An innocent request
by MattheJ1
Summary: "Come on, Anna. I know we're sisters, but...aren't you at least a little bit curious?" Incest, in-universe
1. Chapter 1: Innocence of youth

An innocent request

 **Chapter one**

 **Innocence of youth**

Anna's knuckles rapped softly on the big wooden door.

"Elsa?" she called, conscientious of her voice echoing across the darkened hall. "It's Anna," she said, probably unnecessarily. "You…" She struggled to think of the correct terminology. "…summoned me?"

"Yes, of course," Elsa said from within, voice muffled by the thick oak of her door. "Hold on a second."

Anna waited patiently for Elsa to come unlock the door, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

Under normal circumstances, of course, Elsa's door would be unlocked at all times, as they had both agreed upon; however, judging by the hushed tones and secrecy Elsa had used to invite her here in the first place, circumstances were anything but normal.

 _Come to my room late tonight. Knock three times on the door. Don't tell anyone._

Up until Elsa had slipped her that note, Anna had assumed that her big sister had thrown open every door to her. She seemed eager to spend as much time as possible outside and with Anna, and she seemed to throw a new party every day.

Whatever she planned on saying or doing, it had to be something important.

She heard the latch unlock, and the imposing door swung inwards.

"Come on in," Elsa said, her head peeking around the doorway, scanning the hall. She gestured for her to move quickly, and as soon as Anna had entered, she closed the door and locked it.

 _Geez, Elsa, are you plotting a revolution or something?_ Anna thought. She decided against saying it, though. Her sister seemed very much on edge.

Elsa hurried past her, walking towards a set of chairs she had set up near the foot of her bed. She turned to look at Anna, her gown twirling from the intensity of the supposedly calm gesture. "Have a seat," she said, indicating a large armchair.

Anna chose the bed instead, sitting cross-legged at the foot of the massive thing. Elsa did the same, sitting down with her legs pressed together in front of her.

As with every time she and her sister were this close together, Anna couldn't help but stare. Even as tense and fidgety as she was, Elsa still gave off a regal aura. Her beauty was the envy of the whole kingdom, and Anna was no exception.

Against the opposite wall, the fireplace roared with hearty flames, indicating Elsa's solid control over her emotions. Still, you wouldn't have guessed it from looking at her – her hands were drawn in defensively, and she was trembling slightly.

"So, how have you been doing?" Elsa asked, trying to sound casual and failing on an astronomical scale.

"Good, good," Anna said.

"How's Kristoff?"

"Oh, he's fine."

She waited for Elsa to follow through, but she just sat there, fidgeting slightly.

 _Come on, Elsa, I know you didn't summon me in the middle of the night just to ask how I've been doing._

She seemed very uncomfortable, Anna could tell. She looked ready to burst with whatever she had to say, but also incapable of saying it.

"So…how have you been doing?" Anna prompted.

"Fine," Elsa said quickly, "thanks for asking."

Another awkward silence.

"Have you been…up to anything recently?" she continued.

"Oh, this and that," Elsa said. "Some reading, some work around the castle, some…thinking…" Her voice trailed off.

 _Getting somewhere._ "Thinking about…what, exactly?" Anna pressed.

Elsa fidgeted more and more, until it looked like she might fidget herself off the bed.

"About…love," she finally said.

Anna waited for a moment or two. "Love?" she said, gesturing for Elsa to clarify.

Elsa just nodded.

"What kind of love?"

Elsa started to blush. "You know, like…between a husband and a wife?"

"Oh, of course," Anna said enthusiastically. "Like, hugging and kissing and…stuff?"

"Yeah, that's it," Elsa said. Her face was now almost the same shade as Anna's hair.

"What about it?"

Elsa stared down at the bed and started talking slowly, as if she had to force each word out individually.

"Well, I've been reading some books about….that stuff, you know. Because…eventually, I'll need to know about it, right? But…what I could really use is…some practice." She looked up at Anna. "You get what I'm talking about, right?"

"Uh…I think so," said Anna. "You wanna practice your love techniques. Makes enough sense." Neither of them had been given much of a chance to learn…well, anything about making love during their childhood. Of course she'd want some practice.

So why was she acting so weird about it?

"Of course," Elsa continued, "I'll need someone to practice…with."

"Oh, yeah, sure," Anna replied. "Did you have anyone special in mind?"

Elsa nodded, but she didn't say a word. She simply stared straight into Anna's eyes, her own eyes quivering with fear. Anna stared right back, trying to figure out what Elsa was trying to tell her.

And then she did.

Now it was Anna's face which turned to the color of Elsa's hair.

"Oh," she said, the realization of what her sister was proposing slowly sinking in.

It seemed this was exactly the reaction Elsa had been expecting. "Please, just hear me out, okay, Anna?" she asked desperately.

"Okay," Anna said, still reeling. "Of course," she corrected herself. Her sister was in a vulnerable state right now. Anna wasn't about to abandon her, even if she thought what she was saying was crazy.

"I've given this a lot of thought," Elsa started. Immediately, she cursed her choice of words. "I mean – not like that-"

"No, I get it," Anna said. "Continue."

Elsa swallowed. "Well, the fact is…I really can't ask anybody else to do this. You're the only one I trust enough to say anything about it."

Anna nodded, slowly wrapping her head around her sister's point of view.

"Plus, you know," Elsa continued, starting to talk faster, "you already have some experience, with Kristoff, right?"

Color returned to Anna's face, mostly red. "Well, not…that much experience," she mumbled.

"Oh, okay," Elsa said hastily. "I didn't mean to imply anything, I just meant…"

Her voice trailed off as she realized how spectacularly she was screwing this up.

Her shoulders slumped, and the next words that came out of her mouth were soft spoken, almost pleading.

"Okay, Anna, here's the truth. I tried to imagine what it would feel like. To have somebody else…kissing me, and touching me. But…I couldn't do it. I just freaked out every time they got close. No matter who I thought of, every time they tried to touch me, everything went wrong."

Her voice broke completely. "You're the only person I want to be touched by." She broke off eye contact, hanging her head in shame.

Anna's heart burned with sympathy for her big sister. Even now, with hundreds of people in the castle every day, Elsa was still lonely. Anna had Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven to hang around with. Who did Elsa have?

 _Just me._

It must have taken an insane amount of courage for Elsa to ask her about this. There was no way she could just slam the door in her face about it.

"I'm really sorry, Anna," Elsa said miserably.

Anna looked at her. "Don't be," she said.

Elsa started shaking her head. "This was a terrible idea. I don't know what I was thinking. I don't want to do anything that would risk our friendship."

"No, Elsa, you don't have to-"

Elsa turned her head back to Anna. "Please, let's just forget everything I just said. Forget what I asked you to do. We'll just be sisters, nothing else." She reached her hand towards Anna's shoulder, then pulled it back quickly, worrying that it might get misconstrued.

When Anna put her hand on Elsa's shoulder, she was visibly startled.

Anna smiled warmly. "Elsa," she said softly, "we're sisters. I love you, and nothing in the world can change that. Not this, not anything. That's a promise."

Her words had the perfect soothing effect. Elsa calmed down visibly.

Anna continued, acting much calmer than she actually was. "If you want me to help you out with this, I will."

Elsa's eyes widened. "You mean…"

Anna nodded, though her heart was probably beating almost as fast as Elsa's. "Come on," she said, "what kind of sister would I be if I didn't help you when you needed it?"

Elsa managed a cautious smile. "If you're sure it's all right…"

"Sure I'm sure," Anna said.

She wasn't really sure at all, but that wasn't what Elsa needed to hear right now.

Elsa's smile deepened. "Thank you, Anna," she said gratefully.

Anna returned the smile, glad to see happiness on her sister's face again. It was a beautiful smile. Beautiful face, too.

Suddenly, Elsa propped herself up on her knees, bringing her body that much closer to Anna's in the process. "Okay, then," she said. "Let's get it over with."

Anna's heartbeat ratcheted up another notch. _Oh, she meant right now._

Apparently, some of her alarm showed on her face. Elsa immediately backed off a bit.

"O-Or we could wait," she said quickly. "Until…tomorrow?"

"No, no, you're right," Anna said, pushing herself into a kneeling position. "Let's do it now."

 _Better than giving both of us a whole day to second-guess ourselves._

Elsa hesitated. "Only if you're okay with it."

"Yes, Elsa, I am," Anna said, doing her best to cut off another round of assurances. "Let's do it."

"Okay."

Elsa drew herself closer to Anna, face starting to redden again. "If anything I do feels wrong, let me know right away."

Her face inches away from Elsa's, Anna suddenly found it hard to breathe. "O…Okay," she managed, more flustered than she had expected.

"So…do you know much about kissing?"

"Not…really," she said.

"I don't know too much, either," Elsa admitted. "I'll start off with what I've read about, and then we'll…improvise."

"Sounds good," Anna said.

Her whole body was tingling, and she couldn't fully explain why.

Elsa reached out a hand and softly touched Anna on the cheek. Anna tensed up at the touch, but didn't recoil. Ever so gently, Elsa pulled Anna's head towards hers.

Their lips touched together, and they kissed.

The effect was immediate. Anna felt as if her entire body had been electrified. Shivers shot down her spine, and her body started shaking. But she didn't pull away.

Elsa's mouth opened, and Anna felt her tongue dance across her lips. Anna could think of no other course of action but to open her mouth as well.

The feeling of Elsa's tongue in her mouth was entirely strange, unlike anything she had ever felt before. It excited her far more than she had expected. Something like a thousand thoughts rushed through her head at lightning speed. _This feels wrong_ was not among them.

Elsa's tongue danced around her mouth, and Anna now pushed her tongue forward as well. She didn't even think about the motions her tongue made; now, she was acting on instinct.

For what seemed like ages, they kept the kiss going, neither one wanting it to end. Anna started feeling light-headed and actually had to remind herself to keep breathing. Nothing she had ever done before had felt this good, not by a long shot.

It was Elsa who finally broke the kiss, gently but firmly pushing Anna away. She leaned back onto the bed, as if the kiss had physically drained her. Anna did the same, and for quite some time the only sound was that of their labored breathing.

After a while, Elsa spoke. "Do you think…we went too far?" she asked.

"No, not at all," Anna said quickly.

Again, they sat there in silence. What else could be said?

"You're really good at that," Anna said, realizing too late the awkwardness of what she had just said.

Elsa blushed deeply. "Thanks," she said, instantly regretting it.

The awkwardness was palpable now.

"I told you, I read some books about it," she said quickly.

"Oh, right," Anna said.

More awkward silence.

"So…" Elsa said, "Do you want to try this again sometime?"

"Yes," Anna said, far too eagerly. "I mean…sure, I guess. If you really want to."

"Same time tomorrow?"

"Sure, sure," she said, trying to make it sound like she couldn't care less.

She was even worse at it than her sister.

"Okay then," Elsa said. "See you in the morning."

"Good night," Anna said.

As she got up to leave, the realization of what she had agreed upon hit her.

 _It's going to be 24 hours before I feel those emotions again._

She walked, slowly, towards the door, resolving to use that time wisely.

 _I don't know what kind of books she's been reading, but I have a lot of catching up to do._

Elsa waited patiently until she had left and the door closed.

Then, she got up and relit the fire.


	2. Chapter 2: Frostbite

**Chapter two**

 **Frostbite**

Three knocks rang out from the other side of the door.

Elsa sprang out of the armchair, just catching herself before she started sprinting towards the door.

 _Stay calm,_ she said to herself. _You're going to walk to that door slowly and calmly. Try to not make it too obvious how much you've been anticipating this._

Slowly, she started walking to the door.

Some part of her smiled at the irony of the situation. After the weeks of painful thoughts and deliberation it took to ask Anna about doing this stuff in the first place, waiting for just one day should have been easy in comparison. Instead, she had started to anticipate their next session almost as soon as the first one had ended.

She had been absolutely terrified that Anna might try to talk to her about what they had done during the day, in public. However, it seemed she had picked up on the need for secrecy. Aside from a few sly glances towards her, Anna made no indication that last night had been different from any other night. She had been the same cheerful, upbeat girl that she always was.

Elsa envied her sister's unwavering cheerfulness, as well as the fact that she hadn't turned into a complete nervous wreck. Nobody had said anything, but she was sure that at least some people must have noticed how on-edge their queen was. When a servant had asked her how she had slept last night, Elsa felt like all the blood in her body had rushed straight to her face. Anna's subsequent fit of giggles probably hadn't helped, either.

She had assumed that once she had asked Anna to do this, the worst of it would be other. No matter what Anna's response was, at least the anticipation would be over. But now that Anna had actually agreed to it, Elsa was asking herself more questions than ever.

 _Was this the right thing to do? Is it really okay for me and Anna to be doing these things? Is Anna really okay with this, or did I put too much pressure on her? How far am I willing to let this go? Is she willing to go as far as me? Will we even be able to stop ourselves if we keep going down this road?_

 _Should I have enjoyed it as much as I did?_

Elsa paused, her hand already reaching for the door handle. She smiled in spite of herself. Perhaps that last question was the one she cared about the most.

Because, make no mistake, it had been wonderful. She had enjoyed every second of their…session, far more so than she had expected to. Right now a huge portion of her brain was egging her on, urging her to open the door quickly, to start their next session as soon as possible.

Only…

In all the books she had read, she had never found a single case where two sisters had done what they were doing. From what she understood, it was rare enough for women to do it with each other, much less women that were related. Or…any set of relatives, for that matter. The only given reason for this she could find was that children born from close relatives were more likely to be deformed; it seemed, however, that most people simply never wanted to in the first place.

Was it wrong, then, to do these things with Anna? Especially when they made her feel the way she felt?

Another three knocks on the door snapped Elsa out of her unanswerable question. "Are you in there, Elsa?" came a soft voice from outside.

A pang of guilt rang out in Elsa's chest. She was making Anna wait out there, probably just as uncertain as she was, just because she couldn't make up her mind.

 _Anna came back here on her own volition. Clearly, she must have enjoyed it. And even if I'm not totally sure if it's the right thing to do, I should do whatever makes her the happiest._

Satisfied with this chain of logic, Elsa reached forward and opened the door. "Sorry about that," she said as Anna walked in.

"That's okay," Anna said. She looked down at her shoes, reddening just a little. "Truth be told, I was standing outside that door for a couple of minutes before I knocked."

"Oh," Elsa said.

She had meant to sound neutral, but it seemed Anna took it a different way entirely.

"Oh, not like that," she said hurriedly. "I was just nervous, that's all. I didn't mean it like I didn't want to do this or anything like that…"

Elsa smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I get it," she said warmly. "I'm nervous, too."

Anna chuckled awkwardly, clearly grateful for Elsa cutting her short.

It took about 15 seconds of them standing there, looking into each other's eyes, for either of them to work up the courage to take the next step forward.

"Okay, then," Elsa said, walking over to the bed. "Ready?"

"Uh, sure, I guess," Anna said, following her.

This time they both sat down on the same side of the bed, a few feet apart.

Anna cleared her throat, if only to break the silence. "So, I've been looking for some of those books you mentioned last time."

Elsa nodded. "I saw you in the library a while back," she said. "Did you find any?"

"A couple," Anna said. Her face started to redden again. "They were very explicit."

Elsa nodded.

"Like, REALLY explicit."

"Okay, I get it," Elsa said hurriedly.

"Sorry, sorry," Anna replied.

But even now, Elsa's curiosity got the best of her. "What kinds of things did you see?"

Anna looked at her feet, mumbling something Elsa couldn't make out.

"What?" Elsa asked.

Anna raised her voice just a little. "You know, like whips and stuff…"

"Oh," Elsa said. "Oh, god, no, I hadn't planned on going that far."

"I didn't think you were," Anna said hastily. "But I was wondering…how far ARE you planning to go?"

Elsa thought about it. "I…I'm really not sure."

 _Truth be told, I didn't think we'd get this far._

Anna thought about it for a while. "Okay, no problem," she said, making another futile effort to sound casual. "We'll just keep going until…" She struggled to think of what a good stopping point might be. "Until it doesn't feel right," she finished. "Sound good?"

"Okay," Elsa said.

 _Of course, part of me is already saying this whole thing isn't right, but I guess we'll just ignore that._

"All right, then," Anna said. She scooted closer to Elsa. "Ready when you are."

Elsa inhaled deeply. "Right," she said, tilting her head in towards Anna.

She wondered if Anna could hear her heart beating away like crazy. She was almost as nervous as she had been the first time. It was only by staring into Anna's beautiful sea-green eyes that she managed to calm herself.

She exhaled, and the two kissed again.

This time, it was Anna who pushed forward, her tongue pressing against Elsa's as she eagerly picked up where they had left off the night before.

Once again, Elsa was in nirvana. Any misgivings she might have had about what they were doing melted away, banished from her mind to make room for the tidal waves of pleasure engulfing her.

She wrapped her arms around Anna, savoring the warmth of her body. Anna shivered at her touch, throwing her arms around Elsa as well. Elsa clutched her sister tight, as if she was the only solid object in the world.

Elsa's hands ran up and down Anna's back, feeling the contours of Anna's body beneath the cloth of her shirt. Anna kept her own hands still, her fingers gripping the back of Elsa's silky dress.

Soon, however, she was gripping bare skin.

Within her mind, Elsa registered this change.

 _My dress is made of ice. Now part of it has melted._

These words echoed through Elsa's mind, largely ignored. At this point, Elsa was incapable of maintaining all but the most primal thoughts. What's a dress? What's ice? All that mattered was her and Anna, here and now.

When she looked back on this moment, Elsa would still never be sure why, exactly, she did what she did next. Was it a conscious choice, or just her body acting instinctively? She honestly couldn't say. And in the end, maybe it didn't even matter.

Elsa broke away from the kiss. Then, before Anna had time to react, she moved down towards the side of Anna's neck. Her lips closed around a small patch of skin, and she started to suck.

Anna gasped in surprise. Then, as Elsa persisted, she began to whimper, and soon the whimpers gave way to moans. Whether they were moans of pleasure or pain, Elsa couldn't tell, but it sounded like a little of both.

Elsa continued, and Anna's moans grew louder and sharper.

Make that a lot of both.

Even in her miasma of ecstasy, Elsa's protective instinct kicked in.

 _Just say the word, Anna, and I'll stop. I don't want to hurt you._

But Anna, it seemed, wasn't going to break. She continued to moan, and Elsa continued to suck.

Anna's back arched, and her arms fell to her sides. She clutched the sheets of the bed beneath her as she writhed from Elsa's ministrations.

Anna was starting to have trouble breathing. "Elsa…" she gasped. "Jesus…Christ…" She punctuated the sentence with a scream, one much higher pitched than her previous ones.

Elsa took this as a signal to stop. For now, at least. She pulled away from Anna's neck, breathing heavily herself.

Once again, the two sat there, gasping for air and trying to think of something to say once they caught their breath.

It was Anna who spoke first. "What…was that?" she asked, still breathing heavily.

Elsa waited a few seconds before responding, for more reasons than just shortness of breath. "It's called a love bite," she said.

"You mean…like a vampire?" Anna asked.

Elsa smiled. "Not quite," she said. "I didn't actually bite you, it was just a little nibble."

"That was…intense," Anna said.

"Sorry, you can't really be gentle when you're – oh, no." She looked at Anna's neck with concern.

"What?"

"Now that's going to leave a mark," she said. "Stupid – I should have thought of that."

Anna smiled. "Hey, don't worry about it." She felt the spot on the base of her neck, where a red circle was already forming. "Watch this."

Anna reached into her hair, undoing the bands and ties that formed her pigtails. Unbound, Anna's beautiful red hair cascaded down onto her shoulders, completely concealing the mark.

"There we go, like nothing ever happened," she said. "If anyone asks, I'll just say I'm trying out a new hairstyle. What do you think?"

Elsa didn't answer right away; she just stared at Anna.

Anna cleared her throat. "Something wrong?"

Elsa snapped out of it. "No, of course not. It's just…"

 _Might as well say it. What else could you say to explain that?_

"…you look really beautiful with your hair down." She looked at Anna apprehensively, waiting to see how she took this praise.

Anna beamed. "That's so nice," she said. She reached towards Elsa's hair, pulling at the braids. "Let's see how you look with yours down," she said.

Elsa sat there patiently, waiting as Anna undid her braid. Once she had finished, Elsa felt her hair fall gently into place around her head and shoulders.

"How do I look?" she asked.

She had never seen Anna smile so broadly. "Gorgeous," she said.

Elsa blushed from the compliment. She shifted her head, feeling her silvery locks slide across her back.

Her fully exposed back.

Elsa only then realized just how much of her dress had melted from Anna's touch. Almost the entire back of the dress had been dissolved, all the way down to the waist. Her sleeves were the only things keeping the dress on her body, and even those were melted away in a few places.

Frantically, she reformed the dress around her, hoping it hadn't melted anywhere else. She had lost control of her powers before and created ice, but it had never occurred to her that she might have the opposite problem.

She cleared her throat. "Um, okay," she said awkwardly. "I guess that's enough for tonight."

"All right," Anna said, but she looked a little disappointed. She got up and started to walk towards the door.

"Same time tomorrow?" Elsa asked, worried that she might have scared Anna off.

"Of course," said Anna. "This was really fun."

She opened the door, then stopped. She turned back to Elsa, a smile on her face.

"Maybe next time we'll get the whole thing off, huh?"

And with that, she closed the door, leaving Elsa slack jawed on the bed.

 _Did she really just say that? Does she not understand the implications of what she said, or does she just not care?_

It seemed her concerns about Anna not enjoying what they were doing were groundless. But while it would have been disappointing if Anna had asked that they stop, the concept that Anna was far more willing to do this than her was outright terrifying.

The situation was getting out of control, and not in the way that Elsa had anticipated. She hadn't been planning on giving Anna a love bite – at least not yet – but in the heat of the moment, she had forgotten the reason why. And now, it seemed, she couldn't even keep her clothes on. Everything was happening way too fast, and it seemed neither of them had the self-control to slow things down.

She'd have to do some serious thinking about where this was all going, as well as where she wanted it to go. She might also have to set some sort of ground rules with Anna, before one of them completely lost control. While she was at it, she definitely needed to do some more research, to make sure what they were doing wasn't wrong at all.

 _And maybe I should start wearing something under this dress._


	3. Chapter 3: Payback

**Chapter three**

 **Payback**

Elsa shoved the door open, just barely catching it before it slammed into the wall. She gently swung it shut as she walked, zombie-like, to her bed, falling face-first into the soothingly plush blankets.

As she crawled under the sheets, the door came to a stop, still open a crack. She debated whether or not she should get back up and close it, but decided against it. She was in bed now, and that was a position she didn't want to give up.

The day had been absolutely exhausting. Event after event, meeting after meeting – all day long, barely a moment to rest. If it had just been a bunch of boring conferences in the same room, that might have been okay, but instead she'd been walking all over the town. Down to the docks to christen a new ship; into the grand hall to knight an honorable guardsman; even up to her ice palace with a few important guests for a tour. She'd been on her feet the whole day, and now she was both exhausted and sore all over.

She had been forced to cancel tonight's session with Anna. Anna had looked crestfallen when she told her, but she had understood. Anna hadn't been quite as busy, but she had still looked quite tired by the end of the day. This would give them some much needed rest – and it would give Elsa a chance to seriously think about their next move.

She adjusted her position slightly, and her body screamed in protest. She tried turning onto one side, and her aches grew even sharper. Defeated, she flopped onto her back again.

 _There's no way I'm getting to sleep like this._

Elsa sighed, laying perfectly still and hoping that sleep would eventually come to her.

 _A bath. I should have drawn a bath._

A pang of regret shot through her. A nice warm bath would be heavenly right now. But if even her door was out of reach to her right now, the bath house might as well have been a mile away.

Oh well. Nothing to do for it now. She had stopped moving, and starting again would only redouble the pain.

Amid all the hustle and bustle of the day, she hadn't gotten a chance to have a serious discussion with Anna. It didn't bother her too much, though. Tomorrow, they'd have plenty of time. In any case, Anna hadn't said anything about it during the day, even in those brief moments when they had been alone. Maybe she had recognized the need to slow down.

The door creaked open. "Elsa?" a familiar voice called out.

Maybe not.

Anna tiptoed into the room. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Good," Elsa said. She sat up in the bed, groaning as huge chunks of her body protested the sudden movement. "Okay, not that good," she corrected.

"Sore back?"

"Sore everything," she said, chuckling and groaning at the same time.

"Yeah, you looked like you were in pain at dinner." Anna climbed onto the bed, scooting up next to her. "I think I might be able to help you out," she said.

Elsa would have backed away, if not for the pain that would have followed. "What do you mean?" she asked quickly.

Anna smiled goofily. "I mean a massage, silly."

 _Hey, look at that, now my heart's beating quickly again._

Apparently Anna noticed her concern. "Come on, Elsa, haven't you ever had a massage before?"

"Not from you," she replied.

"Relax, I'm really good at it," Anna insisted.

Elsa looked at her. "That's not what I'm worried about."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Elsa. You said you didn't want to have a session tonight, and I'm okay with that. I can understand if you don't have the energy for it today. This'll just be a regular massage, nothing special about it. Deal?"

Elsa moved to protest, but another flash of pain coursed through her body. She let out a sharp groan, then conceded defeat. "Okay, you win," she said, looking at Anna.

Anna crawled closer to her. "Alrighty then, let's sit you up, okay?"

Elsa nodded. Slowly, she leaned herself forward into a sitting position. Anna positioned herself behind her, getting up on her knees.

"Uh, Elsa?" she said. "The dress?"

Elsa's pulse quickened again. "Right, right," she said. She closed her eyes, dissolving the dress from her back.

She had, in fact, decided against wearing any regular underclothes, and now she felt like she might regret it.

 _Calm down,_ she told herself. _It's just going to be my back. I'm in full control of this._

Anna delicately placed her hands on Elsa's back. Elsa jumped a little at the touch. "Ready?" she asked.

Elsa nodded.

Anna moved for the top of her back, pressing her thumbs into the skin around Elsa's neck. Elsa instinctively leaned forward, but Anna held her in place, her hands gripping Elsa's shoulders. Once she was steady, Anna started kneading her shoulders with her hands.

In seconds, the feeling changed from excruciating to heavenly. Elsa sighed deeply as Anna's fingers soothed her weary muscles. Elsa breathed deeply, relishing the feeling of her contorted muscles being massaged back into place.

Anna moved downward, engaging the heels of her hands on the tighter muscles around Elsa's spine.

"Oh, god," Elsa moaned, too contented to stop herself. "Thank you so much, Anna."

Anna giggled. "My pleasure," she said. "Anything to make you feel better, Elsa."

A warning light went off in Elsa's head, but she ignored it.

 _I'm still in control here. I'll stop this if it goes too far._

 _And not a moment before, because Jesus Christ, this feels so good!_

All of the stress from her stressful day was just melting away. _And,_ she noted with a bit of pride, _it's the only thing that's melting away._

Her dress was staying in exactly the same place, not retreating an inch. It seemed she had more control over it than she had feared.

She turned her head and looked at Anna. Immediately, Anna turned her head back around, but not before Elsa saw the broad grin on her face.

"Stay still," she said playfully. "I'm almost done with your back."

 _No, please,_ Elsa thought. _Go over my whole back again – I don't want you to stop._

But already, she felt far better than before. Everywhere that Anna's hands had touched felt wonderful. While she was still sore in other places, the lion's share of her pain had dissipated.

 _I have the best little sister in the world._

Anna finished the last of her hand motions, lifting her hands from the base of her sister's back. "Feeling all right?" she asked.

Elsa nodded. "Thanks so much," she said. "I really needed this."

Anna smiled. "Okay, now lie down."

Elsa turned to look at her. "What? Why?"

"So I can get the rest of your body, of course."

She said it so innocently.

"You said it'd just be a back massage," Elsa said.

"Well, you said everything was sore," Anna replied.

She seemed confused by her protestations. Did she really not understand why this was such a big deal?

Elsa took a deep breath, trying to phrase what she had to say very carefully. "Thank you for the offer, Anna," she said, "but I'm fine with just the back massage."

"Don't you want me to make you feel better?" she asked.

"You've already done plenty," Elsa insisted, reforming the dress on her back. "I appreciate it, but I really just want to go to bed right now."

 _See?_ She thought to herself. _I can control myself. Stopped this before it went too far._ She couldn't help but feel at least a small amount of pride at her achievement.

That is, until she turned around and saw the look on Anna's face.

She didn't look angry, or even upset. Those, Elsa would have understood. She just looked crestfallen, even resigned. To see such a look on Anna's normally very upbeat face was almost heartbreaking.

"You can understand that, right, Anna?" she asked worriedly.

Anna sighed. "Yes, Elsa, I understand," she said. "You're tired, you just want to get to sleep. The last thing you need is me touching you all over, keeping you awake." She sighed again, getting up from the bed. "I won't bother you any longer. See you tomorrow."

Elsa felt terrible. Anna had just wanted to help her out, and she had turned her away just because she herself was feeling a little confused about everything. She had to say something to make this right.

"Wait, Anna," she called. Anna, who had made it to the door, stopped and turned around. "I'm really sorry," she said. "I'll make it up to you somehow."

Anna smiled. "You don't have anything to be sorry about," she said. "You shouldn't feel forced to let me do something you don't like. You don't owe me anything." And with that, she opened the door and walked out.

Elsa felt tears welling up in her eyes. She grabbed a pillow, covering her face with it.

 _Yes I do,_ she thought, starting to sob. _I owe you so much._

xxxxxxx

Anna's door opened with a soft creak. Elsa slipped inside, leaving it slightly open. She might need a quick escape route.

Anna lay in bed, her hair fanned out in all directions. Elsa felt a soft chill sweep through her as she approached. She had been in here before, but this time was different. The last time she had come here, it had been early in the morning, and she had woken Anna up as soon as she could. Now, in the middle of the night, she had the opposite objective.

As Elsa had expected, she had fallen completely asleep, and experience told her that practically nothing could wake her now. Still, she was incredibly nervous. She had never before tried what she was about to try.

It was a hot night, so Anna had already thrown off the covers. By some miracle, she was also lying on her back. Only one thing stood between her and what she had come to do.

Elsa gently grabbed the hem of her sister's nightgown. Hands shaking, she started to pull it up over Anna's thighs.

 _For the love of god, Anna, please be wearing something under this._

As it turned out, she was – barely. As Elsa delicately raised the nightgown over Anna's hips, she revealed what had to be the smallest underwear she had ever seen. They didn't cover an inch of skin more than they absolutely needed to.

They also had a snowflake pattern emblazoned on them.

Trying to ignore the implications of this, she continued to roll the gown over Anna's slender body.

She briefly wondered what might happen if somebody were to walk by Anna's door right now.

 _Hey there, Kai, how's it going? Nice night, isn't it? Oh, don't mind me, I'm just undressing my sister to give her a massage._

She told herself to ignore this line of thought. Robbed of context, of course it sounded bad. Anna had done this for her, now she was just repaying her.

 _That sounds even worse._

Elsa forced herself to stop thinking in this vein, instead focusing totally on the task at hand. She lifted the dress over Anna's impossibly slim waist.

Then, about two-thirds of the way up her body, Elsa met resistance.

She blushed, knowing full well she couldn't lift the dress any further without touching some very…private…locations on her sister's body. Furthermore, it seemed Anna had even less underclothing on the upper half of her body than her lower half – which was to say, none at all.

She would have to make do with what she had. She could reach Anna's shoulders under the gown. She applied a little pressure, waiting for Anna's reaction. Only a slightly sharpened exhalation indicated that she had felt anything at all.

 _This is the worst idea I've had in a long time._

Ignoring all of her common sense, Elsa started her massage, squeezing Anna's shoulders in a similar way that Anna had done earlier that night, only softer.

Anna started breathing deeper, but not any faster. Taking this as a positive sign, Elsa continued, feeling Anna's taut muscles loosen and relax underneath her fingers.

As she moved down her sister's back, Anna began to sigh in contentment. Soon enough, the sighs turned into moans. Elsa, who had never been more nervous, forced herself to continue.

 _Don't worry about it. She's still asleep. Right now, all I'm doing is giving her a good dream. Probably something about Kristoff._

As if she could read her thoughts, at that precise moment, Anna let out another sigh, with one word in the middle of it.

"Elsa," she moaned, voice thick with affection.

Elsa felt like her face might catch fire.

 _Okay,_ she said to herself, trying to calm down, _so she dreams about me. That doesn't have to mean anything._

She wondered why she bothered lying to herself – especially when she was this bad at it.

She sighed. When she had asked Anna to do this, she had just wanted to know more about how these things worked – or at least, she had told herself that. Now, however, she found herself doubting more and more that it could be that simple.

 _Anna dreams about me,_ she thought. _And here I am, giving her a massage and hoping my clothes don't fly off whenever she touches me. If we do start doing something wrong, which one of us is supposed to tell the other to stop?_

Elsa finished her massage, hands at the base of Anna's freckle-covered back. Anna's breathing hadn't sped up a tick. Elsa, on the other hand, was hyperventilating like crazy. She risked a glance at Anna's face and saw a contented smile.

 _You've got a choice to make, Elsa. You can't put it off forever. Either you put a stop to this now, or you just go with it and see what happens._

 _Well, I don't want to stop._

 _When you put it like that, it sounds pretty simple, doesn't it?_

Elsa chuckled bitterly, then slapped a hand to her mouth. Ironically, the slap was probably louder than the chuckle, although neither seemed to wake Anna up.

This close call sucked out all the shaky courage Elsa had mustered.

 _I did what I came for. Time to go._

Walking a delicate tightrope between cautious delicacy and nervous haste, Elsa pulled Anna's gown back down over her body. When she reached her hips, Elsa decided not to risk disturbing her any further by lifting her body up.

 _Nightgown around the waist. That's believable, right?_

Fairly certain that it wasn't, Elsa tiptoed back to the door, pushing it to just a slit but not fully closing it. With her paranoia, the sound of the latch closing would be like a cymbal's clash.

As she crept back to her own room and crawled into bed, the answer to one question still eluded her.

 _What am I supposed to do about this? Do I try to control it, or just throw away my doubts and go with it?_

By the time sleep found her, she still didn't have an answer.

xxxxxxx

About ten minutes later, Anna woke up. She groggily looked around the room, registering the subtle differences.

The door was open a crack. Her gown was pulled up to her waist. And her back felt wonderful.

She smiled.

 _I have the best big sister in the world._


	4. Chapter 4: First time for everything

**Chapter four**

 **First time for everything**

Anna skipped down the hallway, filled with energy. She hummed a little tune as she skipped, her still-unbound flopping up and down along with her. The mark on her neck was fading, but she thought she might keep this style. It felt nice waving in the wind, unbound. It fit her well, she thought.

Already, she had walked around the outside of the castle twice. For whatever reason, she felt energetic tonight – almost electrically charged. She was finding it harder and harder to wait for their sessions each night. How could she, when she was learning just how fun they could get?

Maybe the hardest part was not talking to Elsa about what they were doing. The two of them were together almost all the time every day, and they certainly had plenty of alone time, but it was always quite clear that Elsa really didn't want to talk about their sessions during the day. She sort of understood why, but she felt like she might explode if she didn't talk about it with somebody.

So she had told Sven.

When she was alone with him, she had told him every last detail about what she was doing with Elsa – after making him swear to not tell anybody else about it, of course. She wasn't sure he understood everything she said, but by the time she had finished, his jaw was on the floor. She had felt a lot better after telling him about it, and not just because seeing a reindeer in shock was absolutely hilarious. Because, really, if it wasn't so embarrassing that she couldn't talk to her friend's reindeer about it, how bad could it be?

She'd also passed the time by doing some more research. She'd been a bit luckier in finding the correct books, and while she could only read a couple of pages at a time before having to put them down for a few minutes, she was learning more and more. Idly, she wondered what they might do in tonight's session. She couldn't wait to find out.

Anna sauntered up to Elsa's door and knocked three times. "Elsa?" she called, her voice taking on a musical lilt.

"It's unlocked," Elsa said from inside. Her voice was very soft.

Anna's cheerful optimism started to dwindle. Elsa didn't sound happy at all.

 _She can't want to miss another session, can she? She seemed just fine today. Maybe a tiny bit more distant, but not that much._

She'd been sending out quite a few mixed signals recently, and Anna wasn't totally sure how to react. She had assumed that the massage late last night was some sort of apology for their missed session, a sign that she shouldn't worry too much about the implications it. Now, she was worrying more than ever.

Or maybe she had read it wrong, and the fact that she gave a massage in lieu of a session meant that she just wanted to keep things platonic from here on out?

 _I really wish she'd explain herself a bit more,_ Anna thought, and not for the first time.

Now more worried than she probably should have been, Anna pushed open the door.

Elsa was sitting on her bed. She was smiling, but it was a weak smile. "Hey," she said quietly.

"Hi," Anna returned, walking to her side.

She sat down on the bed, waiting for Elsa to say something, but she remained silent.

 _Back to this, then._

Finally, Elsa spoke up. "There's something I need to talk to you about," she said.

Anna leaned in closer. "I'm listening."

Elsa took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. "I'm…not sure if we can keep doing this," she said after a while.

Anna's heart sank. "What?"

"I said I'm not sure, okay?" she repeated quickly. "I didn't say that I definitely wanted to stop." Her voice was trembling, as was her whole body. "I just don't know…"

Anna gently put her hands on Elsa's arms, trying to steady her. "Calm down, Elsa," she said. "Just explain to me why you're thinking this."

Elsa looked down at the bed. She took another deep breath, shoulders rising and falling smoothly. "This wasn't supposed to mean anything," she said.

"What wasn't?" Anna asked.

"The kissing," she said, eyes still fixed straight downwards. "The touching. Everything we've been doing. It was just supposed to be practice, you know? In case I needed to know later?"

"Yeah, that's what you told me to start with," Anna said, nodding.

Elsa's bangs hung down in front of her face, silvery locks concealing her eyes. Even through them, the blush on her cheeks was unmistakable.

"See, when I said that," she began, "I didn't really know how it would feel. I never realized it could be so…so…"

"Wonderful?" Anna supplemented.

Elsa tensed at the word. "Yes," she said very quietly.

This still didn't make a lot of sense to Anna. "So why is that a problem?" she asked. "Why can't we be allowed a little fun for once?"

Elsa looked back up at her. "Because I love you, Anna," she said. "You're my sister, and my best friend in the world. I wouldn't trade that for anything." She looked down again. "Even this."

Anna tried to grasp what she was saying. "What, so you think this will change how we look at each other?"

"It already is!" Elsa said. "I used to look at you and just see Anna, my sister. Now I see your lips, and your legs, and…"

The path of her eyes finished her sentence. Both sisters blushed.

"I don't want any of that," Elsa continued. "I just want you to be my little sister. But every time we do this, you become less my sister, and more my…"

Again, she left the sentence unfinished. Again, Anna understood exactly what she was saying.

Anna put her hand on her sister's shoulder again. "So, you don't think we can be both?"

Elsa's head dropped into her hands. "I don't know," she said wretchedly. "I want to believe that we can, but with everything that's been happening…how could we?"

Understanding began to dawn for Anna.

 _She's just confused. All this stuff we've been doing – it's overwhelming for her._

And really, why wouldn't it be? This was her first time kissing, first time getting this intimate with someone else – first time for everything. All these new emotions were assaulting her at the same time. It was too much to take in all at once, and right now Elsa was panicking from all the sensory overload.

She needed someone calm and collected to help her clear her mind. Anna was neither, but she'd have to do.

She put her hand under Elsa's chin, turning her face up to look at her.

"I think we could," she said, doing her best to sound confident.

A hint of a smile crossed Elsa's face. "You do?"

"Of course," she said. "There's nothing in the world that can break the bonds of true love."

Elsa still looked uncertain. "I wish I could be as sure as you are," she said wistfully.

Anna smiled. "Then we'll wait until you are," she said resolutely.

Surprise and gratitude spread across Elsa's face. "Really?"

"Of course," Anna said. "You're under a lot of stress right now, and you probably have a bunch of questions. You don't need to answer all of them at once. I can give you a couple of days to think it over."

 _Look at me, spouting sage advice like I have any idea of what's going on in her head._

But she seemed to be on to something. Elsa's taut features were relaxing, the relief on her face unmistakable. She still looked tense and uncertain, but the sympathy and understanding of her sister had done wonders for her.

"Thank you so much, Anna," Elsa said. "I promise you, as soon as I figure this all out, I'll let you know."

"Seriously, don't worry about it," Anna said. "This is all for you, remember?"

 _Though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying it too._

"Of course, of course," Elsa said. "So…I'll see you tomorrow, I guess?"

"Oh. Um, sure," Anna said.

She should have been expecting it, but still, being urged out of her room like this felt a little disappointing.

She stood up. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow, sis," she said glumly.

Elsa's expression quickly changed to dismay as she saw how upset Anna was. "Oh, did you want to stay?" she asked.

"No, it's fine," Anna said. "I mean, sort of, yeah, but maybe that wouldn't have been the best idea."

"I mean, if you just want to hang out, we can," Elsa said.

"Really?" Anna asked. "You'd trust me with that?"

"Of course!" Elsa said. "I told you I wanted to just be your sister. Sisters should be okay with hanging out in each other's rooms, right?"

"Sure, I guess," Anna said, surprised by her sister's candor. "If you're really okay with it…"

"I really am," Elsa said, her voice turning serious. "I'm not going to push you away again, Anna. I've told you that a thousand times."

Anna looked into her eyes. "I really appreciate that, Elsa."

Elsa smiled back. "I'm glad to hear it."

Anna plopped back down onto the bed. "So, what should we talk about?"

xxxxxxx

Anna tossed and turned in the big bed. An arm flopped over to Elsa's side, but she quickly withdrew it before she accidentally nudged her. It would be so easy to wake Elsa up right now, and then she might ask her to leave. And she definitely didn't want that.

As she lay there, sleep still eluding her, Anna thought back to their conversation earlier that night. Knowing Elsa, she had expected them to talk about something deep or emotional, or something like that.

She would not have guessed lilacs.

Anna had never given them much thought, but apparently they were Elsa's favorite. Something about their light violet color and the faint yet lovely aroma they gave off. Not the most ostentatious flower, by any means, but somehow their subtleness engaged Elsa far more than their more gaudy competitors. ("If that makes any sense at all," Elsa had added with a chuckle.) In response, Anna had voiced her support for marigolds, pointing out that even just a few of them could exponentially increase how vibrant a garden looked, bright yellows accentuating all the other colors, even the violets – no pun intended.

It was, by far, the most mundane conversation Anna had had in a long time. And she really enjoyed it.

As time passed, their conversations strayed to a myriad of other topics – books, dresses, far away kingdoms – everything under the sun. Really, the specific topics didn't matter. Anna immensely appreciated the opportunity to spend this kind of quality time with her sister. Nothing they talked about was of great consequence, but the conversation itself was very significant indeed.

 _We can still just be sisters,_ was the underlying message. _This stuff didn't have to change that._

When the two first exchanged yawns, Anna had regretfully announced that she should probably get to bed soon. Elsa had replied by pointing out that they were already in a bed, and one big enough for two to comfortably sleep in. Anna had protested (softly), but Elsa's repeated assurances that she trusted her little sister had silenced her quickly. "Besides," Elsa had said, crawling under the covers, "You always fall asleep faster than me."

Of course, it wasn't often that Anna's body was filled with such boundless energy as it was this night. As the two transitioned from vertical to horizontal, then sank beneath the sheets, Elsa's eyes were the ones that drooped closed, while Anna's remained wide open.

And so, now the two were lying next to one another in Elsa's massive bed, Elsa slumbering peacefully while Anna stared at her lovingly, mind still going at the speed of light.

Awake, she had held Anna's attention well enough with casual conversation. Asleep, however, she captivated her by wholly different means.

 _God, she really is beautiful, isn't she?_

The covers were pooled to her waist, which meant Anna had a perfect view of her entire body.

 _And a very perfect view it is, too._

The moonlight streaming through the window lit Elsa's face just beautifully, accentuating all her best features, from her gently sloping cheekbones to her blood red lips that, even now, were drawn into a smile. She was always beautiful, but here and now, she was nothing short of picturesque.

Absentmindedly, she ran her fingers along Elsa's arm, sheathed in its glittering sleeve.

 _I wonder if you're dreaming about me right now._

The dress dissolved beneath her fingertips.

Instantly, Anna drew her hand back, as if she had been shocked.

What was she doing? She had just promised that she would take things down a notch, mere hours ago, and here she was, fondling her sister while she was asleep! And though she hadn't known it would happen, the fact that she had exposed her sister in this way made her feel terrible.

 _Elsa trusted me enough to let me sleep here. And I almost just ruined it._

And yet, even as she mentally chastised herself, she found her eyes drifting to Elsa's exposed arm. Seeing her pale flesh silhouetted against the moonlight sent chills down her spine.

And a warmth between her legs.

She forcibly snapped herself out of this line of thinking.

 _No. I made a promise to Elsa. I'm not going to do this, not while I'm lying in her bed._

She pulled herself from under the covers, climbing out of the bed and heading for the door.

The white door slammed behind her as she hurried back to her own room. Anna barely gave it any thought. Elsa was a sound sleeper, right?

She ran into her room, locking the door behind her for perhaps the first time ever. She dove into her bed, closing her eyes and trying to clear her mind.

Instead, she saw Elsa again, her slumbering form etched on the inside of Anna's eyelids. The warmth between her legs intensified.

Embarrassed by her own arousal, she pressed the heels of her hands into her forehead. Still, image after image of Elsa's gorgeous figure floated through her mind.

The energy that had been coursing through her veins all day now served as kindling, fueling the fire she now felt down below.

 _I promised Elsa,_ she told herself again. _She needs more time to decide._

The sensation was becoming unbearable. She pulled up her gown with her left hand, her right shooting down beneath the hem of her underwear.

 _Goddammit, why do I have to be the responsible one? I have needs too!_

This wasn't the first time she had felt like this, but she had never been bold enough to do something about it before. With the memory of Elsa's sleeping form still in her mind's eye, she shakily reached into herself.

As if her fingers had been charged with electricity, the rush of emotions that immediately surged through her body knocked the breath out of her. She gasped, unprepared.

Working off the few relevant pages she had read, as well as primal instinct, Anna pressed on, pushing her fingers back and forth slowly, clenching and unclenching her hand.

The electric sensation flowed through her body again, coursing through her entire body before exiting through her mouth as a moan.

 _God, this feels so good!_

She started moving her hand faster, settling into a sort of rhythm. Each time, the pleasure coursed through her like a wave rippling back and forth across a pond, except that it grew stronger and stronger with every pass.

Her underwear became an obstruction, so she broke her rhythm for a second to remove them, pulling them off her body and flinging them to the side. She then returned her right hand to its motions, while her left hand reached up her gown, seemingly on its own accord.

She groped her own breast, fondling herself beneath her nightgown. She kept up her rhythm, moving both of her hands in sync with each other. Elsa's image remained vivid in her mind as the pleasure within her grew and grew.

Was this right? Was this wrong? She had no earthly idea. All she knew was that it felt good. Really, really, good.

She was practically panting now, her breath coming in short, quick gasps. Her vision was starting to fade, and still she was going faster and faster, and was this ever going to end, because oh god, if this kept going for much longer she might actually-

 _Ohhh GOD._

Anna cried out as the orgasm rocked through her body. For just a few seconds, the nirvana fully eclipsed her. She arched her back, hands and feet digging into the bed. All she saw was white, and all she felt was pleasure.

Then, as it faded, she fell back onto the bed, her breathing slowly returning to a normal pace. A feeling of deep contentment washed over her as she sank into the softness of her bed.

 _Christ,_ she thought, _that was amazing._ She had never experienced anything that intense in her life.

 _Is this really what Elsa was so nervous about? I can't imagine any reason to not want to do that, as often as possible._

She giggled. "You really need to loosen up a little, Elsa," she said aloud.

The door creaked.

Anna turned to it. Most people probably wouldn't have noticed, so quiet was the sound, but having spent fifteen years being best friends with her sister's door, she was more attuned to the sounds they made than anyone else.

That sound had unmistakably come from something that had been leaning against the door being taken away. For example, a head being withdrawn from the keyhole.

A keyhole that, Anna now realized, provided a full view of her and her bed to anyone who might want to watch.

And now that she was paying attention, she picked up more sounds – the sound of floorboards creaking, starting in front of her door and ending in front of Elsa's, and the soft click of somebody trying – yet failing – to close their door silently.

Anna smiled. _Didn't mean to scare you off, sis. Did you enjoy the show?_

Maybe she should have been upset. If she and Elsa were in reversed positions, she knew Elsa would be. But right now, her mind was struggling to come up with any negative emotions. At all. She was feeling ridiculously happy, and ridiculously confident.

 _It'll be fine,_ she thought. _She might be embarrassed, but she did watch all the way through, didn't she? That's a good sign._

It seemed, at last, the energy that had overwhelmed her through the entire day had finally dissipated. She felt herself growing tired. There would be plenty of time to talk to Elsa tomorrow.

Of course, she wouldn't want to. But it would happen eventually.

As her eyelids began to close, one last thought entered Anna's mind.

 _There is absolutely no way I'm going to let up now. Elsa deserves to feel this good. Hell, she NEEDS to feel this good._

 _And I kind of want to be the one who makes her feel it._


	5. Chapter 5: Taking Things Slow

**Chapter five**

 **Taking things slow**

Elsa had actually considered covering her face in ice.

Not for long, of course. Ideas thought up in the middle of the night often prove to be blatantly stupid the following morning. Even in her shaken state, she was capable of recognizing a bad idea when she thought it. But the fact remained that, for longer than she'd like to admit, she had legitimately considered spending the whole next day with her entire face covered with a thick sheet of ice.

Anything to avoid looking at Anna the next morning. Anything to prevent the awkwardness.

Because, really, what can you say to your sister after watching her do what she had done?

 _Good job,_ a sadistic voice in her head said. _You could try saying that._

Elsa stopped in her tracks. She touched the side of her head with two pointed fingers. A sharp blast of ice rocked through her head, disintegrating every last fragment of that particular train of thought.

 _This was your fault, you know,_ she pointed out. _You should have just walked away when you saw the door was locked._

She couldn't deny this fact. She cursed herself, and the morbid curiosity that had drawn her to look at the keyhole. And then, when she had looked through, when she saw Anna on the bed, realized exactly what she had been doing…well, she couldn't look away then, could she?

 _Oh, sure,_ she chided herself, _you're just an innocent bystander. You want to think about how much of your dress you left there in a puddle on the floor?_

She didn't. She really didn't.

She made it to the stairs, consciously forcing herself to take them one at a time. She descended slowly, contemplating what she had to do next.

She was just going to breakfast. She couldn't lock herself in her room forever, not anymore. In any case, she'd be thinking a lot more clearly once she had a good meal in her. Anna never woke up in time for breakfast anyway, so she'd be able to eat in silence and think.

Then, as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard Anna's bedroom door open behind her.

 _It's like she can hear my thoughts._

She forced herself to at least pretend to stay calm. She sped up her walking pace, determined to make it to the end of the hallway before Anna reached her.

 _I'm not running,_ she told herself. _Anna won't want to look me in the eye either, not right away. It's probably for the best if we both just stay reasonably far away from each other for the time being._

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

The sound, innocent enough in any other context, was bloodcurdling for Elsa. She jumped, nearly breaking out into a run right there. Behind her, there was a soft thump as something landed on the ground floor.

Which meant that Anna had just slid down the banister.

And was now directly behind her.

Suddenly, the door at the end of the hallway was a thousand miles away.

 _Can't start running now,_ she told herself, almost as a command. _Just keep walking, and you'll make it there before her._

Except, as she kept walking, it soon became clear that Anna was, in fact, gaining on her. She was never a subtle girl, and now Elsa heard a series of strange thumping noises, getting closer and closer to her.

 _What is she doing?_

 _And what am I going to do when she catches me?_

For a moment, she considered throwing herself against the wall and waiting for Anna to pass.

 _Yeah, because I'll blend right in with the red wallpaper. Good thinking, Elsa._

Then, as Anna passed her, she nearly did it anyway.

"Hi Elsa," she said breathlessly, passing right by her.

She was skipping.

Elsa stopped dead in her tracks as Anna waltzed through the door at the hall's end, trying to think of some explanation.

Even if Anna had just been talking to herself last night, it almost didn't matter. She had made such a commotion running back to her room that Anna couldn't have missed it. How was she so happy? So…carefree?

It had never made her THAT happy when she had done it herself. But then again, back then, there wasn't much that could make her happy. Except…

 _Was that…her first time?_

Elsa put a hand to her head. If she had truly been both witness to and cause of Anna's first orgasm, then it now seemed incredibly unlikely that she could convince Anna to slow down.

She didn't want to stop, of course. She reminded herself of this fact as she clenched her fists and started walking towards the door. Throughout all the crazy things that had happened the last four nights, she was still enjoying it. That, in fact, was the entire problem. She still had no clue whether or not this was even right in the first place. She would figure it out eventually, she told herself.

 _If only Anna would give me some time to think!_

She pushed the door open and nearly collided with Kristoff, who had been just about to open the door from his side. She drew back, head nearly colliding with the door frame.

"Oops," Kristoff said, taking a step back himself. "Uh, hey, Elsa, I was just looking for you."

"Really?" Elsa said, straightening herself. "What do you need?"

"Well, I had some questions about what, exactly, my job is here," he said. "A lot of little questions, not too important. I don't have time to discuss it now, but maybe at lunch…?"

"Yes," Elsa said quickly. "Yes, I agree. Lunch would be perfect, Kristoff. I'll just…gather some records and meet you in, say, the East dining hall?"

"Um, sure, I guess…" Kristoff said.

"Great," Elsa said, walking by him. "If you see Anna, tell her I'm getting ready for a meeting and don't want to be disturbed."

This was perfect. She could avoid Anna for a few hours and think about things without looking too rude. Some boring meeting like this would be perfect for helping get her thoughts in order. And miraculously, as she entered the banquet hall, Anna was nowhere to be found. She felt a pang of guilt for using such a sneaky excuse to dodge Anna, but they would both be better off for it.

It was almost too perfect, really. But she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

xxxxxxx

"Thank you so much. You're the best!"

"Glad to hear it. Now why did I just do that?"

"I'll explain it to you later. Come on, we have to get ready."

"For what?"

"For lunch, silly!"

xxxxxxx

Anna was Kristoff's friend – if not his best friend, certainly his best human friend. The two were pretty close. Also, of course, it was entirely because of Anna that he was working there in the first place, so of course she would care about a meeting like this.

Elsa knew all of these facts individually. None of that prevented her heart skipping a beat as she entered the East dining hall and saw Anna sitting there right next to Kristoff.

 _Stay cool, act natural,_ Elsa reminded herself. _I said I wasn't going to freak out._

So she waved to Anna, leaning against the wall in a manner that her severely malfunctioning brain currently perceived as casual. "Hey, Anna," she said, forcing herself to sound like everything was normal. "What are you doing here?"

Anna looked up at her. "Oh, hey, Elsa," she said, her voice dripping with the same forced normality. "Kristoff said you guys would be having lunch together, so I thought I'd stop by."

Kristoff looked at Elsa. "That's okay, right?" he asked.

"Oh, sure, of course it's okay," Elsa said quickly, walking forward and taking a seat opposite Anna. "I mean, why would it not be okay?"

Kristoff raised an eyebrow. Elsa slouched into her chair, hoping to hide herself behind the massive plate of sandwiches placed in the center of the short table.

Kristoff cleared his throat. "Okay, I guess we should get started," he said, a little louder than necessary.

"Sounds good to me," Elsa said.

But Kristoff didn't reply. Instead he and Anna both stared at the door expectantly. Elsa turned to look, but nothing seemed out of place.

"I said, okay, I guess we should get started," Kristoff repeated, even louder this time.

"Oh, right!" came a voice from behind the door. Kristoff sighed.

The door flew open and Olaf walked in. "Kristoff, Kristoff," he said, his voice a flat monotone.

"Yes, Olaf?" Kristoff said. "What is it?"

Olaf opened his mouth as if to answer, then froze. A confused look floated across his phrase, as if he had forgotten what he was about to say.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Anna leaned forward. "Is something wrong, Olaf?" she prompted.

"Oh, yeah, right!" Olaf said, brightening. He looked back at Kristoff. "Sven is in some sort of trouble," he said in the same monotone.

Out of the corner of her eye, Elsa saw Anna wince.

Now Kristoff leaned forward. "What…kind of trouble?" he prompted, unable to keep the exasperation out of his voice.

Olaf stared straight forward. "Alittlebutnotalot," he rushed, all at once.

He turned to look at Anna. "How was that?" he asked. "Did I do it right?"

Kristoff groaned, sinking his head into his palm. Anna grimaced. "You did just fine, sweetie," Anna said, her tone indicating the exact opposite. Olaf, completely tone-deaf as ever, smiled.

Kristoff stood up. "Well, that sounds like it could be bad," he said, clearly having rehearsed his lines a lot more thoroughly than Olaf. "I'd better go see what Sven's gotten himself into this time." He walked towards the door, Olaf leading. "You guys go ahead, eat without me. I feel like this might take a while."

He stopped halfway out the door, turning back to them. "You two have fun," he said, grinning.

Anna scowled at him.

"Uh, not like that," he faltered. "I meant…enjoy the meal?"

She wasn't letting up.

Kristoff bailed out. "See you guys later," he finished lamely, quickly placing the door between himself and Anna's glare.

Elsa turned to Anna, smiling despite herself. "Well, that wasn't the worst performance I've ever been to," she said, rather surprised by her own levity.

Anna's head slumped, sinking into her crossed arms on the table. "Three lines," she said dejectedly. "Olaf had three lines. Kristoff had, like, five. How did they both screw it up so badly?"

Elsa couldn't help but chuckle. Their bungled performance had lightened her mood quite a bit, and Anna now seemed infinitely more approachable. "Look on the bright side," she said. "It worked."

Anna looked up, face brightening. "You mean you aren't going to…leave?" she asked hopefully.

Elsa noticed the mental substitution. _Run away_ had clearly been what Anna had first intended to say. She felt a pang of guilt when she realized how many times she had done just that in the past.

She leaned in and squeezed Anna's hand. "Of course not," she said.

Anna smiled at the combination of contact and reassurance.

"So," Elsa said, "Do you want to talk?"

Anna smiled nervously. "Actually," she said, "First I want to eat."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"

"Hey, cut me some slack," Anna said defensively. "I skipped out on breakfast just to practice that."

"Really?" Elsa said.

Anna nodded.

Elsa sighed, taking a sandwich off the platter in front of her. "Well," she said, "Time well spent."

xxxxxxx

"But that doesn't make any sense, Anna. You can't just say that you love sandwiches," Elsa said, licking the crumbs of her second sandwich off her fingers.

"Oh?" Anna said inquisitively, picking up her fourth. "And why not?"

"Because a sandwich can be anything," she said. "Anything you put between two pieces of bread is technically a sandwich. You can't claim to have some sort of favoritism for something that abstract. It's like saying you love food that's served on plates."

Anna, having just taken a huge bite, held up her finger to indicate that a response was on its way.

It wasn't really a necessary gesture – Anna talked just as much while she was eating as any other time. From what the staff had told her, convincing her to not talk with her mouth full was one of the greatest challenges of their youth.

Elsa had kind of assumed that they had run out of simple, banal conversation topics the previous night, and yet neither lacked for small talk during the meal. Anna seemed intent on filling every silence, even the natural silence caused by having a mouth full of meat and bread. During public events, of course, this meant that she and more vocal guests would often dominate the conversation, cutting her and many others out entirely without realizing that they had done so. But with the two of them alone, it simply meant that she would respond with thirty words to a statement Elsa had made with seven. She might start to ramble about one thing or another, but she'd catch herself before long, often offering Elsa a chance to voice her opinion.

And oddly enough, Elsa did find herself talking more and more. Mostly in response to something Anna said, but still, the words came a lot more easily than under normal circumstances.

 _I guess I just feel more comfortable around her._

Which was incredibly strange, considering all the reasons she had to feel completely the opposite. By all accounts, this should have been awkward and uncomfortable, with neither of them being able to make eye contact.

Finally, Anna swallowed her massive chunk of sandwich. She burped a little, blushing as she did so. She pressed a hand to her mouth, smiling lopsidedly.

Elsa giggled. _Awkward, sure. But how can you be uncomfortable with someone that adorable?_

"I mean, yeah, you could technically make a sandwich out of anything," Anna said, "but then you'd just have a bad sandwich. You can't rule it out just because it's possible to make bad sandwiches."

"I guess…" said Elsa, still unconvinced.

"I'll put it this way. You could take a turkey leg and throw it into a fire, burning it so badly that it turned black and nasty. That's entirely possible to do, and it would taste terrible, but it's still possible to have turkey as a favorite food, right?"

"Well, yeah," Elsa conceded. "I see your point."

Speaking of turkey…

Elsa looked down and realized that not just the sandwich she was currently eating, but most of the ones on her side of the platter, had turkey in them.

How had she known?

She looked up at Anna, who shrugged. "Back when we were kids and they'd send up plates to your room, you had turkey, like, five times a week. It was kinda obvious."

"Oh," Elsa said, considering the implications of this.

 _She cared enough to remember something as small as that._

"Well," she began, "that's very…observant of you, Anna."

Instantly, she felt like hitting herself in the face.

 _Nice! The correct answer was nice! 'That's very nice of you, Anna'! How hard is it to give your sister a simple compliment?_

But, incredibly, it seemed Anna had taken her comment in the best possible way. "Thanks, Elsa," she said, smiling bashfully.

It was uncanny. No matter how stupidly she acted, Anna was always completely understanding and kind about it. How could one person be so forgiving?

 _She deserves to be happy all the time._

 _If only I could be as willing as she is._

The meal continued for another ten minutes, with conversation coming a lot more easily now that the brunt of their hunger had been satisfied. Finally, Anna admitted defeat halfway through her fifth sandwich, though she insisted that she had once eaten six in one sitting.

"It's not a contest," Elsa said, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"Well, if it was, I would've won," Anna said.

"Yeah," Elsa replied.

The two fell into silence, both very much aware of where the conversation was now about to return to.

"So, now do you want to talk?" Elsa asked, pushing her plate aside.

Anna nodded. "Yes," she said.

Elsa took a sip of water, if only to justify the pause while she thought about how to phrase what she had to say.

"I don't want to stop," she said.

 _Good start._

Anna nodded in agreement. They had both done – and seen – too much to just stop outright, that was obvious. Even if they had wanted to, it would be pretty much impossible.

"But…" Again, an awkward pause found its way into the conversation. "…we were going way too fast. That was my fault – I didn't think it would start meaning something."

There were a million ways to misconstrue what she was saying, but Anna seemed to be mercifully understanding.

"I understand," she said. "So…we slow down?"

"Yes," Elsa said, although she had no idea what slowing down might entail. Sessions every other night? Once a week? Did she really want to do that to Anna?

Anna put her hand on Elsa's, a gesture Elsa was beginning to enjoy more and more. "Just tell me what you're comfortable with, Elsa," she said, smiling warmly.

 _God, I don't deserve her._

"This," Elsa said abruptly, having an epiphany. "I'm very comfortable with this."

Anna looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"The lunch, the conversation – this was a lot of fun," Elsa said. She put her hand on top of Anna's now, holding her hand between the two of hers. "Just the two of us together."

"Oh," Anna said. Then, realization struck her. "Oh!"

"What?"

"Was this…a date?" she asked, eyes wide.

Elsa thought about it. "Yes, I think it was."

Anna started blushing. "Oh my god, I so didn't mean for this to be a date, I just wanted a chance to talk. Uh, not that I wouldn't mind being on a date with you, if that's what you…"

Elsa smiled. _She is so goddamn adorable._

"Don't worry about it," she said. "It was a good date. The kind I'd like to have more of. A lot more of."

Anna's stammering faded off. "So that's what we do, then? We'll just date for a while?"

Elsa nodded, feeling more and more comfortable with the idea. "That's what…couples do, right?" (She had narrowly avoided saying ' _other_ couples'.) "They spend some time together before they…spend some time together."

Anna laughed at the double entendre. "Okay, then. I can do that. So, like, tonight, there's a play or something, at the theater, right?"

Elsa smiled. "There are plays at the theater every night," she pointed out.

"Right. So…would you like to…I mean…" she said, falling back into stammering.

Elsa stopped her with a smile. "Yes, Anna, it would be my pleasure to go to the theater with you tonight."

"Great!" Anna said. "That sounds like a plan. So, shall we seal it with a-" She cut herself short abruptly, looking as if she was fighting the urge to cover her mouth with her hand.

"A kiss?" Elsa ventured.

"Handshake. I was going to say handshake," Anna insisted.

Elsa laughed. "Come here, you."

She stood up, leaning forward over the table. Anna did the same, and the two kissed.

It was a short kiss, barely even lasting a couple of seconds. Still, when they pulled away, they were both breathless.

Anna smiled broadly. Elsa had a feeling she wouldn't be able to stop smiling for the rest of the day.

"Kissing on the first date," she said mischievously. "Naughty girl."

Elsa laughed. "Well, in my defense, it was a pretty good date."

Anna laughed back. "See you tonight, Elsa," she said, heading for the door.

"See you," Elsa responded, waving.

Anna lingered for a moment before leaving, smiling back at her before she walked out the door. Elsa gathered herself and prepared to leave.

But even as she was walking out, mentally preparing herself for everything she had to do before tonight, she couldn't stop thinking about that kiss.

It hadn't been particularly long – they hadn't even used tongue – but somehow it had felt different to her than their first few kisses.

Because now, it was starting to mean something.


	6. Chapter 6: So easy

**Chapter six**

 **So easy**

Thirty minutes before the play began, and Anna was freaking out.

She had been so happy and excited the entire day. Finally, she would be spending some quality time with Elsa – going on a date, no less. Tonight had the potential to be _huge._ The culmination of not just the past five days, but all nineteen years of her life, was finally coming. They would have such a good time, if it killed her.

And now, just before the event, it was all about to come crashing down because she had _nothing to wear!_

Again, she tore open her closet door, desperately shuffling through her outfits as if a new dress would materialize from her desperation.

 _Nope. Just the same five dresses that Elsa's already seen a hundred times._

Coronation. Winter. Birthday. Everyday. Special guest. Not only had Elsa seen all of these, she'd even made some of them.

Since when had her wardrobe become so limited?

 _Whenever I need a dress, I usually get Elsa to make one for me._

But now she needed to _impress_ Elsa, a seemingly impossible task on its own, let alone with such few wardrobe options.

 _I'll just have to make the most of what I have._

She grabbed the coronation dress off its hanger, studying it up and down. It was well made, but definitely lacking any sort of 'wow' factor.

 _I had some glitter, right?_

She hurried to her bureau, yanking open drawers before she found a small vial. She uncorked it, pulling out a little and sprinkling it over the dress.

She held it up to the light experimentally. It sparkled faintly, the glitter sticking well.

Okay, that was a start, but what else could she do?

Gee, what did Elsa do to make herself look so astoundingly gorgeous all the time? Besides, you know, everything?

Mental images of Elsa in her various outfits flashed through Anna's mind.

 _Well, she has that notch all the way up the leg of her dress, right?_

Yes, that exposed leg was certainly one of the more notable parts of her sister's outfits. She never failed to draw stares from – well, anyone in the vicinity, really.

Of course, Elsa had better legs than she did.

And better hips.

And thighs.

And pretty much everything else…

She cut herself off.

 _Okay, maybe I'm not as drop dead gorgeous as Elsa. But I do need something to stand out here._

Rummaging through her drawers again, she pulled out a pair of scissors.

It was a nice dress, but she could always have a new one made.

She laid the dress flat on her bed, opening the scissors at the base.

 _Dear god, please tell me I can cut in a straight line._

xxxxxxx

Twenty-nine minutes later, Anna staggered out of her room. She hobbled her way over to the adjacent door.

"Elsa?" she called. "I'm ready."

 _Now, that's got to be the biggest lie you've ever told._

In truth, she had never felt less ready in her life. Essentially everything she had tried to do to make herself look better had completely backfired. She might have actually considered calling the date off, if not for how crucial it was.

To start with, her hair. After cycling through a dozen different styles, she finally settled on her old fallback, twin plaits rolled into a bun. Once she finished, however, she decided it was too plain, and tried mixing up by twisting them around in different ways. As it turned out, her original style was pretty much the only way both plaits would comfortably fit around her hair. She just barely managed to bring it back to normal before her entire head exploded into red frizz.

Then came the makeup. Anna never wore makeup, and tonight she found many painful reminders as to why. In the short time she had, she'd managed to poke herself in the eye with mascara, swallow an unhealthy amount of lipstick, and apply enough facial powder to turn her face whiter than Elsa's. In the end, she found the result quite monstrous, and she didn't have the time to take it all off. _Witness the modern art masterpiece that is Anna's face, everyone._

She had finished off this lovely outfit with a tasteful set of high heels, the highest she could find. So high, in fact, it felt like she was walking on her toes. She had actually told herself that she would be able to master walking them in a mere five minutes. A full fifteen minutes later, and she was still staggering, hips swaying so much she thought she might fall over if she picked up too much speed.

In short, she looked completely hideous, could barely walk, and was less ready for this date than she had ever been for anything in her life.

"In a moment," Elsa called. "I'm almost ready."

Anna forced herself out of the spiral of regret and panic she had fallen into.

 _Stop freaking out,_ she told herself. _Elsa's human too. She won't care if I made a mess of myself._

 _But I wanted to impress her, and now I just look like a freak!_

The door creaked open, and Elsa stepped out.

Anna's jaw dropped. Instantly, every single thought that had been in her head was washed away, so that her whole mind could take in the beauty of her sister.

Her dress was a deep, deep blue, the kind that the word 'indigo' was invented to describe. Just staring into it felt like diving into the ocean. Three bands of sapphires encircled it at the chest, waist, and hem. One stripe of purple and one stripe of light blue spiraled around it, directly opposite each other. It had shoulder straps that tied together around her neck, a deep 'v' in the front that showed off ample cleavage, and absolutely no back. Needless to say, it had a notch down the leg, revealing heels that sparkled so brilliantly Anna swore they must be made of diamonds.

The dress alone was a work of art, to say nothing of Elsa within it. Anna had never seen anything half as beautiful as Elsa in this moment.

She realized, with some alarm, that a small puddle of drool was forming within her mouth. Quickly, she snapped it closed, wondering if she could still save face after the blatant staring she had just been doing.

 _Stay calm,_ she told herself again, a task sounding more herculean with every passing second. _Try to avoid collapsing into a puddle of hormones and awkwardness, just this once._

Then Elsa gave a nervous little wave. "Hey," she said, smiling.

Anna opened her mouth to respond, and an avalanche of words came out.

"Oh my god, Elsa, you look amazing! I mean, you always look amazing, but now it's like, times ten! I didn't even know you could make fabric that dark blue – well, of course you can, what am I saying, why would you not be able to – but it just looks so amazing. Like, seriously, what is that, silk? It's sparkling, even when you stand still you can see the light bouncing off it in different ways. I didn't even know you could…"

Her rambling slowed to a halt. She looked up at Elsa, who seemed a little taken aback.

 _Well, that didn't last long._

Elsa laughed softly. "So, you like the dress?" she said playfully.

Anna chuckled. "Yeah. Where did you get it?"

Elsa looked at her, confused. "I asked the seamstresses for something special," she said. "They had one almost finished that I suggested some modifications for."

"Oh," Anna said, feeling like an idiot.

How had she not thought to ask the seamstresses? The whole day, while she had been fretting about every last aspect of their date, she hadn't once thought to just order up a new dress.

And now here she was, in an old dress she'd worn before.

With glitter all over it.

And these stupid heels.

And ridiculous makeup she'd probably put on wrong.

Elsa wasn't even wearing any makeup…

Anna felt a tear roll down her face. Once she realized it, more tears started flowing.

Elsa immediately looked concerned. "What's wrong?" she asked quickly.

"You're just so perfect!" Anna said, sobbing. "You always look so beautiful, every day. I wanted to impress you so badly, just this once, and I just…I can't! I can never compete with you!" She buried her face in her hands, fully aware that her makeup was now going to look even worse.

 _Stop crying,_ she told herself. _This isn't something worth embarrassing yourself in front of Elsa!_

This thought only made her cry harder.

She felt a hand touch her face, tracing the path of a tear up her cheek. She looked up to see Elsa, smiling warmly at her.

"You're beautiful," she said. "There's nothing in the world that could make you look any better."

Anna smiled. Just hearing these words from her sister meant more than she could ever know.

Elsa tugged at her dress. "If this thing makes you feel less beautiful, then I'll tear it to pieces, and I'll go on this date in a…a pair of overalls!"

Now Anna was laughing. "No, you don't have to do that for me," she said. "If you think I'm beautiful, then that's enough for me."

Elsa smiled at her. "I do," she said sincerely.

It was astonishing. Elsa knew just what to say to cheer her up, all the time.

"So," Elsa said, "shall we go?"

Anna wiped the last few tears off her face. "Sure," she said.

She took a step forward, and nearly toppled over again. She staggered to the side, leaning on the wall for support. Elsa looked at her, concerned.

"Sorry," Anna said sheepishly. "It's these stupid heels."

Elsa walked over to her. "They do take some getting used to." She offered her arm to Anna. "Here," she said, "Let me give you a hand."

Anna looped her arm around Elsa's. She took another step forward, and Elsa mirrored her. The two awkwardly lurched down the hallway, arm in arm.

"Thanks," Anna said, relishing the closeness of her sister.

 _Maybe these heels weren't such a bad idea after all…_

xxxxxxx

The play was, by all accounts, a quality production. It told the story of a boy who killed his father and then ran away, roaming the land and seeking forgiveness from the gods for his crime. The actors were some of the best in their field, the plot was well written, and even the special effects were top of the line.

And yet, with Elsa sitting right next to her, Anna found it very hard to pay attention to any of it.

They were all alone, up in the private balcony reserved for royalty high above the rest of the theater seats, which meant that nobody – save perhaps the performers themselves – could see Anna repeatedly turning away to gaze lovingly at her sister, only turning away when Elsa began to look in her direction.

For the tenth time, Anna wondered how it was possible for anyone to be as beautiful as Elsa. Even at the coronation, when she had done her best to remain concealed, nobody had been able to keep their eyes off Elsa, least of all Anna herself. And now, every day she opened up more, and became even more beautiful for it.

Idly, Anna raised her left hand to Elsa's bare back. With two fingers, she traced a line up the side of Elsa's spine. Elsa shivered, but didn't pull away. Taking this as a good sign, she repeated the maneuver, this time with her full hand.

Elsa sighed, leaning into her hand rather than away from it. Now Anna got bolder, her hand roaming across all of Elsa's back. Her hand traveled from the base of Elsa's spine, just above where the dress began, all the way up to the taut muscles of her shoulders.

Then her fingers brushed against one of the strings tied in a knot across the back of Elsa's neck. Without thinking, she pulled lightly on it.

This, it seemed, was too much for Elsa. Immediately, a hand flew up to the strings, and Elsa whirled around to look at her, a look of panic on her face.

Anna pulled her hand back without hesitation. "Sorry," she said quickly, face apologetic.

Elsa calmed down, but she didn't turn away immediately. She looked at Anna apologetically, speaking volumes without saying a word.

 _Please,_ the look said. _I'm sorry, but I'm just not ready for that. Please don't go there, not yet._

Anna nodded vehemently, placing her hands firmly in her lap where they could do no more damage. Elsa, satisfied, turned back to the play, though she still looked shaken.

Anna cursed herself and her impatience, repeatedly reminding herself that she had agreed to take things slow.

 _Goddammit, why does this have to come so easily?_

There were no hoops to jump through. No elaborate schemes to set up. No uncomfortable dresses to wear. No crazy makeup to put on. All she had to do was put her hand on Elsa's body, and instinct took over. It was the easiest thing in the world to do.

But the more she did, the closer Elsa came to running away.

She had promised that she wouldn't, Anna knew. But she had done it so many times in the past, Anna couldn't fully convince herself that she wouldn't do it again. Fifteen years of habit couldn't just go away in such a short time period.

To this day, Elsa still hadn't told her why she had shut Anna out. But Anna wasn't stupid. She had noticed that her hair was now missing the solitary blond lock that had been there all her life. Add to that what had happened to her hair when Elsa had frozen her heart, and Anna could guess that Elsa had, at some point, hurt her, and then locked herself away to avoid hurting her further.

But she _had._

Every day spent alone outside Elsa's door had been like a knife in her belly. Years of isolation had taken their toll on her, so much so that she had been desperate for any kind of relationship. And then Hans had come.

She shuddered. _No. Don't think about him._

Elsa, noticing her shudder, turned to look back at her. Anna realized that she had started crying again.

"Sorry," she said again, drying her eyes quickly. "I didn't mean to cry. I shouldn't be crying over this."

 _I'm giving her the worst second date ever._

But to her surprise, Elsa leaned over and wrapped her arms around her.

"Elsa," Anna said, startled. "You don't have to…"

But even as she was saying these words, her voice cracked. Now that she was in Elsa's arms, holding back her tears was impossible.

So she cried, feeling the tears stream down her face. Her whole body shuddered in Elsa's arms as she sobbed.

These tears came from deep within her, years of suppressed grief coming to the surface in wave after wave. She wrapped her arms around Elsa as well, squeezing her with all her might.

"I'm sorry," Elsa said, and Anna realized that she was crying, too. "It's not fair to you, I know. Just give me a little more time. Please."

Anna nodded. "Whatever you want," she whispered into Elsa's shoulder. "Just don't leave me."

xxxxxxx

They stayed in each other's arms for the rest of the play. Even after it was over, they held hands the whole way back to the castle. It felt childish, but there was some primal part of Anna that refused to let go of her sister, as if she might dissolve into smoke the moment she did.

At least they had stopped crying. In fact, despite all the thoughts that had run through her head on that balcony, Anna couldn't stop smiling as they walked.

 _Now that I'm holding onto her again, how could I stop?_

But, of course, as they neared their bedrooms, Anna knew it would have to end.

"That was a great idea for a date, Anna," Elsa said as they reached the top of the stairs.

"Thanks," she said. "I had fun."

 _It's going to be a long night without you._

But, even as she was struggling to find the words to say goodbye, Elsa walked past her own door, continuing over to Anna's.

"Elsa?"

Elsa looked at her. "I promised I wouldn't leave you," she said. "Now it's about time I proved it."

Anna's eyes widened. "You mean…"

Elsa nodded. "I'm staying by your side. All night, all day."

Anna's heart melted. "Thank you so much, Elsa. Just…"

She felt the sticky residue of makeup on her face.

"…Let me get ready."

xxxxxxx

The seven minutes she spent out of Elsa's arms, washing off makeup and changing, were agonizing. The hours that followed, however, were pure bliss.

There were no words exchanged. They simply lay there, under the covers, holding hands and staring into each other's eyes. It was something that Anna was sure she could never get tired of.

Elsa, on the other hand, got very tired from it. Eventually, her cool blue eyes slid shut, and Anna was once again in bed with her sister, alone with her thoughts. However unlike the previous night (had it really only been one night since then?), her thoughts were clouded with worry – worry of losing what they were even now trying to build.

 _Is this what she meant when she said she was starting to see me differently?_

She had never been one to cry before, even when most others would. She had always internalized her sorrows, burying them beneath a happy and cheerful shell so thick that it practically defined her by now. But tonight, she had cried twice, both times when she should have been happier than ever.

 _The closer I get to her, the worse it gets. Is it really worth the pain I'm causing myself?_

She looked back up at Elsa, and squeezed her hand.

 _But I'm not going to run away. Not now, not ever._

And now Anna, too, knew the duality of wanting to continue onward, yet fearing what she might find.


	7. Chapter 7: One last door

**Chapter seven**

 **One last door**

Elsa squealed as the water hit her face. Anna followed it with another splash, sending a second wave at her. Elsa turned her back to Anna, then spun around quickly, her arm swinging through the water in a spiral that sent a wave back at Anna.

The two slung water at each other mercilessly, laughing as they played. Anna splashed more vigorously, putting Elsa on the defensive more often than not. But Elsa still had a few tricks up her sleeve, including one where she shot a jet of water right at Anna's face by simply clenching and unclenching her fist. Anna shrieked as she moved to cover her eyes, her high pitched shouts echoing down the mountain.

It had been Elsa who suggested the particular location for their third date, and she knew she had picked a good one. Anna was having the time of her life, and that alone was enough to make Elsa smile.

The spring was located about halfway up the mountain where Elsa's ice palace sat. It never froze over, making it a popular respite for the ice harvesters in winter; in the summer, however, it was almost never visited. After all, why would you go to a hot spring in the dead of summer?

Unless, of course, you had the power of ice and could cool it, making it a very relaxing – and very private – place to spend an afternoon.

Kristoff had told her about it the day before, when she had been looking for something to top the play Anna had suggested. He had sounded quite enthusiastic to share the information with her.

"Sven and I could take you guys there, and the four of us could spend the day. It'd be so much fun!" he had said eagerly.

Then Sven had given him a look.

"Or…I could _tell_ you where it is, and you two could go there while Sven and I did something else," he amended.

He was such a nice guy.

For a while, she had fretted about swimwear, but Anna had come to the rescue. Fishing deep inside her closet, she had come out with what appeared to be two handfuls of string with a few scraps of cloth sewn on.

"What is that?" she'd asked.

Anna had smiled. "It's called a bikini," she'd explained, holding up the two pieces to her body to demonstrate what they would cover. It wasn't much. "Trust me, in a few years, everyone will be wearing them."

Elsa had no clue where Anna found tailors willing to make garments so…scant…for her. But, then again, she'd desperately wanted to see Anna in them.

She adjusted the straps on her own bikini, one Anna had picked out for her. It felt like it needed constant adjustment, as if it were perpetually shifting into even more immodest positions than it currently occupied. For all she knew, it could fall apart entirely at any moment, which could very well have been Anna's plan all along. But she'd be lying if she said it didn't feel a little liberating to wear.

Anna looked stunning in a bright green set, the color perfectly complementing her hair. When Elsa had asked if she had any in light blue, Anna had laughed, muttered something about her being predictable, and grabbed a bright red one out of the closet. It wouldn't have been Elsa's first choice, but if she looked half as good to Anna as Anna did to her, it would be worth it.

Elsa pulled herself out of the water, sitting at the edge of the spring with her legs dangling into it. Anna swam around the deeper end, twisting and twirling around in the water.

Elsa watched her, smiling. _She's just showing off at this point._

As the thought went through her head, Anna turned to look at her, smiled, and dove underwater.

A few seconds later, Anna's feet, followed by her legs, rose straight up out of the water. She continued rising until everything from her waist down was sticking out, and there she held steady, body pointed in a straight line skyward.

She was doing a perfect handstand in the three-foot deep water.

Elsa stared at her, actually breathless at the sight. Sure, it was easier than doing one on land, but to be able to hold steady for that long…

Then, after maybe twenty seconds, at last Anna's form collapsed, and she righted herself, gasping and coughing as she stuck her head above water.

The move somewhat spoiled the graceful picture she had just been a part of. Elsa couldn't help but giggle. Anna scowled at her, but that scowl quickly faded as Anna saw the humor inherent in the situation. Soon, she laughed too.

It was brief, but the laughter they shared perfectly underscored the mood between them. As Anna resumed swimming, Elsa continued to gaze lovingly at her, wanting nothing more in the world than to spend eternity right here with-

 _Whatever you want. Just don't leave me._

The smile faded from her face. _Damn it._

Ever since Anna had said them last night, those words had haunted her. They had been her last thought before she went to sleep, and the first thought after she woke up. No matter what else she had done or thought, they were always just beneath the surface, waiting to emerge again. Now, after ignoring them for hours, forcing herself to smile for Anna, she had no further recourse but to think about them.

 _Have I really made her that desperate?_

For 15 years, she had shut Anna out, and every day of those 15 years, she had wished she didn't have to. All the loneliness and pain she had suffered through for it, all the times she had cursed her own gifts.

For Anna, of course, it had to have been even worse. Even though she had free reign of the entire castle, and could have left at any time (before Elsa herself had ordered the gates to stay shut), she spent most of her time outside Elsa's door, unaware of even the reason why they had to stay apart. How much of her life had Anna willingly sacrificed to a sister that refused to even look at her face to face?

Every day after her coronation, Elsa had done everything she could to make up for lost time. Even before these sessions, they were spending every day together, and Elsa had apologized hundreds of times for the mistreatment she had caused. Every one of those times, Anna had dismissed it. Indeed, for the most part, she seemed to have been completely unaffected by the lifetime of isolation.

Until now.

 _Whatever you want. Just don't leave me._

The words cut her like a dagger, reaffirming exactly how much damage she had done to her sister. Every time she said no, every time she pushed Anna away from her, even a little, she was causing her more pain.

She wanted nothing more than to make Anna happy. To cast aside her inhibitions and do everything she wanted her to. Make up for all those years she had caused her to suffer. But every time she tried to take that final step, something inside her stopped her.

It wasn't because they were sisters – she had gotten over the initial weirdness of that pretty quickly. It wasn't because she thought it was wrong – how could it be, when it felt this good? It wasn't even because she didn't know how her powers might respond, although that was a legitimate risk. Each of these reasons had seemed perfectly valid when she had come up with them, but it hadn't taken long for Elsa to realize she was only trying to distract herself from the real reason she didn't want to go through with it.

Her whole life, she had hidden herself behind a series of doors. Her bedroom door, the castle gates, even her gloves counted. Each of these doors had, one by one, been thrown open, exposing herself to the world more and more each time. And for the most part, this was a good thing – she certainly didn't want to go back to the way it had been, sequestered away from the world and her sister.

But this was her last door. Whatever still stood between the two of them, it was the only barrier left between her and the world. And that thought terrified her.

If all her barriers were gone, what would be left of her? Would there even be anything left?

Whatever happened, she knew she'd be drastically changed by it. And who was to say it would be a good change? Anna loved her for who she was now, and she loved Anna as she was.

But it seemed there was more to Anna than she had thought.

 _Whatever you want, just don't leave me._

It seemed Anna had barriers too, and she had gotten a peek behind one of them last night. And if they kept going, it seemed hers might come down, too.

So, in other words, they were both about to tear down everything about themselves just to get closer to each other.

 _I just wanted to learn how to kiss…_

Anna surfaced in front of her. "You okay, Elsa?" she asked, clearly worried.

Elsa realized that she had been sitting there for an unnaturally long time, probably staring straight ahead with a concerned look on her face.

"Oh, no, it's fine," she said, incredibly unconvincingly.

Anna smiled. "Come here," she said, holding her hand up towards Elsa. "I wanna try something."

Elsa took her hand and jumped back into the water, wary.

Still holding her hand, Anna led her out to the deeper part of the spring, where the water reached up to their shoulders. She turned around and put her hands on Elsa's sides.

"Now, take a deep breath," she commanded, smiling.

Elsa inhaled, unsure exactly of where she was going with this.

Anna, who had also taken a deep breath, leaned forward, and they kissed again.

It was a strange feeling, kissing with a mouth full of air. Still, kissing her felt just as euphoric as ever.

Then, Anna leaned to the side, pulling Elsa with her, and they were both totally submerged, still locked in a kiss.

Elsa, caught off guard, squirmed for a moment, but Anna held her steady, refusing to pull away. Soon enough, Elsa realized what was going on.

 _Anna, are you crazy?_ Elsa thought. Still, she didn't break away either.

After a few seconds, she started to get lightheaded. Spots started to appear in her vision. Somehow, though, her lack of oxygen only heightened the exhilaration of their kiss. Even as her survival instinct told her to push Anna away, she only clung tighter.

 _I am going to pass out, here in Anna's arms._

This thought occurred to her, and it didn't even seem too bad.

Soon, though, she felt Anna pushing her away. She let go, confused, and Anna rose out of the water.

She emerged to hear Anna spluttering and coughing. "Mouthful of water," she heard Anna gasp.

Elsa was breathing heavily herself. "What…was that?" she panted.

Anna held up a finger, still coughing. After a while, she turned to Elsa.

"It was…an idea. You know like…when we kiss…your heartbeat speeds up, and it gets hard to breathe?"

Elsa nodded.

"I thought, if we went underwater…it might…magnify it or something? It was a stupid idea," she finished lamely. "I'm sorry."

Elsa, still breathing heavily, managed a smile. "No," she managed. "That was…fun."

Anna grinned back, then coughed again. "Glad you think so," she said, chuckling.

As she pulled herself out of the water, Elsa had made up her mind.

 _I have to go through with this. Even if I'm not ready for it myself, Anna deserves everything I can do to make her happy. Hell, she deserves a lot more than I can give her._

Again, she reminded herself how unworthy she was of a sister like Anna.

 _I'll do it tonight. Forget about my inhibitions; Anna's waited long enough._

 _Tonight, for sure._


	8. Chapter 8: A cry in the dark

**Chapter eight**

 **A cry in the dark**

For the third night in a row, Anna was restless.

She tossed and turned in her bed, reflecting once again that it was more suited for two to sleep in than one. Already she missed the warmth of Elsa's body next to her, so spoiled was she from the previous night. She grabbed a pillow and wrapped her arms around it, squeezing it tight – a poor replacement, but maybe it would stop her shivering.

It was fascinating. Elsa could conjure up a palace of ice with the snap of her fingers, and yet her body was still just as warm as anyone else's. Even parts of her body that were normally covered by her icy gown were delightfully warm to the touch. It was a strange, yet intriguing, fact, the kind that Anna hoped she'd become intimately familiar with many of in the years to come.

Elsa hadn't volunteered to sleep with her tonight, and Anna hadn't pushed it. Part of her was regretting that now – a large part, in fact – but she had pledged to be cautious. What mattered, first and foremost right now, was what Elsa was comfortable with. She wasn't about to risk everything they were working towards for a little pleasure.

But it was getting harder and harder to hold back.

Anna shivered, the highlights of their date still replaying over and over in her mind. The simple joy of the spring, the beauty of Elsa in her red swimsuit, her ill-advised makeout session – everything had been so wonderful.

But the best part of it was far more intangible. Throughout both of their previous dates, there had been an air of awkwardness underlying the whole thing. Much like their initial sessions, they hadn't really known what they were doing, and it almost felt like they were just going through the motions for it. Anna's horrible attempt at making herself look pretty was a perfect example of this; she had done it because that was what people did, right? Now, she had actually started to feel…well, not at home, not yet, but certainly more comfortable with it all.

 _I'm really on this date with Elsa. She's kissing me, and I'm kissing her. We're really holding hands. We are actually doing this._

She was spending more and more time with Elsa, and having a whole lot of fun while doing it. Their third date had gone off much better than the previous two – nearly perfect, in fact.

Nearly.

Anna groaned. She begged herself not to think about this, not when there was so much going right between the two of them, but her mind would not let it slide.

Something was off.

She had felt it many times during their dates; a worrying look on Elsa's face, hesitation a moment too long to be explained away by caution, Elsa simply refusing to take a step forward when it would only make sense to do so. Every explanation she had offered sounded flimsy and unconvincing after she thought about them for a while. Something was making Elsa hold back, and she didn't know what it was.

 _You know what it could be._

That awful voice popped up in her head again. Anna immediately silenced it and did what she always did – pushed it to the back of her mind and replaced it with optimistic thoughts.

Whatever it was that was bothering Elsa, it was almost certainly something she could fix. She couldn't ask Elsa about it outright, of course, but she felt confident that Elsa would tell her in time. After all, they were only getting closer and closer to each other. It would happen sooner or later.

It would hardly be the longest she had to wait for Elsa.

Again, this thought threatened to overwhelm her with sad memories, so she quickly worked through it. Elsa preferred to take things slow, that was how she dealt with things. It would be so easy to get impatient and rush her into something she didn't want to do, but that would turn out poorly for both of them. Elsa was happiest when moving at her own speed, and if Elsa was happy, she was happy.

Content with her rationalization, Anna closed her eyes, her grip on the pillow loosening.

She still wanted to take that final step with Elsa. To make her feel that ecstasy that the mere thought of her sister had brought her. But she knew she couldn't yet, and she was okay with that. Besides, the dates, the simple kisses, merely spending this much time with her sister – these things were also very enjoyable, in another kind of way. Not an immediate spike of pleasure, but a longer, lingering kind, the sort that leaves you happy for hours afterwards.

 _I can wait, Elsa,_ she thought, feeling sleep start to overcome her. _As long as you need me to. However many dates you want to go on, however many nights we keep our hands to ourselves, however many kisses that end too soon, I'll do it._

 _Because...this is a lot of fun, too._

xxxxxxx

She was stirred out of her sleep by the feeling of a hand on her shoulder.

Instantly, her eyes shot open – she couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour – and she turned to see a familiar face.

"Elsa?" she said, surprised. "What are you-?"

Elsa pressed a finger to her lips. "No words," she whispered.

Elsa threw aside the covers, climbing onto the bed and straddling Anna. She leaned down and kissed her, her tongue darting forward immediately.

Anna opened her mouth, engaging her tongue as well. Elsa's kiss was far more aggressive than any the two had shared so far. Anna had to struggle to keep breathing.

 _Is this a dream?_

Instantly, the fear that this might all be a fabrication of her mind flooded her.

Anna pushed Elsa away, breaking the kiss. "Pinch me," she breathed.

For a moment, Elsa looked confused. Then, she smiled.

Her hand reached under the hem of Anna's nightgown, then moved quickly up Anna's body, dragging the gown with it. Anna's breath caught in her throat as Elsa's hand settled on her breast, thumb and forefinger gripping her nipple.

She squeezed. The pain was very real.

Anna yelped, more from surprise than anything. Elsa covered Anna's mouth with her own, muffling her screams while still applying pressure.

Anna, with no other way to release the energy that Elsa was filling her with, flailed, clutching her bedsheets in balled fists.

 _Jesus Christ, this is really happening._

Elsa pulled away, at last releasing Anna from her grip. For a moment, Anna thought she saw a hint of doubt on her face. Then it was gone, replaced by a wide smile.

She hooked her thumbs under Anna's gown, pulling it upwards. Anna raised her arms over her head, and Elsa pulled the entire garment off, tossing it onto the floor.

Anna quivered, her upper body fully exposed to her sister. Elsa looked over her, eyes hungrily eating up the sight of her.

Anna tried to strike some sort of sultry pose, but her desire rendered her motionless. The only emotion she could display was one of unbridled want.

For just a second, they stared into each other's eyes, air thick with anticipation. Then, Elsa's head ducked down towards Anna's other breast.

Anna tensed, expecting a bite. Instead, she felt the wetness of Elsa's tongue dart across her nipple. She let out a gasp as Elsa worked, coaxing moans out of her with her hand and mouth.

Anna writhed, clenching and unclenching her fingers and toes. She wanted to reciprocate in some way – to at least try to match the pleasure that Elsa was giving her, but she was no longer in control of her body.

Then Elsa slipped her free hand down into her underwear.

Anna let out a whimper as Elsa's fingers glided across her already wet folds. Then they plunged in.

She arched her back off the bed, crying out as the euphoria shot up her spine. Elsa pulled her fingers out, then thrust them in again, starting to move them back and forth inside Anna. Elsa pulled her head away from Anna's breast, focusing all her attention on her hand's movements.

Every pass pushed her deeper and deeper into a blind ecstasy. Her breaths came in short gasps, robbing her of the guttural moans she desperately needed to release. Her body began thrusting back and forth in time with Elsa's fingers, until the two were moving in rhythm.

Slowly she felt her orgasm growing, much faster than it had come when she had been on her own. Elsa was relentless, speeding up with her thrusts and breaking out of their rhythm. Anna, gripping the sheets like she might float away if she let go, could only brace herself as it came.

She screamed, twice as loud as she had the first time, as the climax rushed through her body, an unbearable wave of pleasure. Her back arched sharply, then relaxed as she fell back onto the bed.

She sank into the covers, panting for breath as she came down from her high. For a moment, she couldn't think. Her body, exhausted from the effort, called for her to go back to sleep.

But she couldn't do that, not when she had so much more to do.

She wanted to thank Elsa for what she had done, to tell her what this meant to her. She wanted to kiss her all over, from her luscious red lips down to her long, elegant legs, and every inch in between. Most of all, she wanted to repay her in kind, to let her feel what she had, to make sure she-

The door clicked shut.

Anna's eyes flew open. She looked around the room.

Elsa was gone.

xxxxxxx

 _That went perfectly,_ Elsa thought as she raced back into her room.

She had spent hours planning every step of what she was going to do. She'd pored over books, choosing just the right techniques to use. She had agonized over whether to invite Anna to bed, follow her to bed, or wait until she fell asleep, and rehearsed hundreds of possible explanations to give, before deciding to just remain silent. Even now, parts of her were berating her choices, saying she should have done something different, or worrying that she might have been too aggressive.

But, in the end, she had done exactly what she wanted to. She had given Anna the pleasure she so desperately deserved, which she was very happy about. And while she still held reservations about letting Anna do the same to her, now, hopefully, it would be easier for her to wait.

 _Stop beating around the bush,_ she chided herself as she climbed under her covers. _You enjoyed that._

It was the truth. She had taken immense pleasure in her actions, and not just because of how happy she had made Anna. The sight of her lying there, nearly naked on her bed, writhing with delight, was…intoxicating, almost.

Even now, while her mind still held reservations, her body ached to be pleased in the same way. She fought the urge to draw her still soaking hand down to her own sex, to do for herself what she had just done for Anna. A deeper, more powerful desire suggested she return to Anna's room, to let her do it.

 _No,_ she told herself, _not yet. I'm still not ready to take that step._

But this rebuttal was far gentler than it had once been. As she had predicted, she was starting to warm up to the idea. In a few weeks – maybe even a few days – she was sure she'd be ready.

In the meantime, she told herself, eyes getting droopy, she was okay with what they had. Maybe tomorrow, she might ask Anna on another date. It would probably be awkward, talking to her after what she had just done – that was one of the reasons she had decided to leave immediately – but that would hardly be insurmountable.

 _Yes,_ she thought, pulling the covers up to her shoulders, _things are looking good._

xxxxxxx

Anna lay shivering on the bed, cold and exposed.

Already, the sweat that had covered her body turned frigid, seeming to amplify the feeling of raw exposure. She reached for a sheet to cover herself, but only half-consciously, her mind elsewhere.

Never before had her spacious room felt so lifeless and empty. Never before had a night felt so dark, a pitch black that surrounded her, and drove home the isolation. She pulled the cover over herself, feeling a tear slide down her face.

 _She left me._


	9. Chapter 9: Up is down

**Chapter nine**

 **Up is down**

Elsa stood at her door, waiting for the sound of Anna's door.

She knew Anna was already awake, since the girl wasn't exactly quiet; the sounds of her getting ready to start the day easily carried through the wall that separated them. Still, she wanted to wait until Anna was already out the door to talk to her about the previous night, so as not to just ambush her about it. And, obviously, she couldn't just wait outside her door like some creepy stalker, so she had instead gone for this plan, waiting until Anna left her room to do the same. With any luck, it would appear that they had both just happened to wake up at the same time, and their conversation would quickly go to the most obvious place.

Because she did want to know how Anna felt about what she had done, very much so. She was sure, after hours of deliberation, that she had done the right thing, giving her the satisfaction she wanted and deserved. But that didn't stop the voice in her head telling her that she had somehow screwed it up; that Anna hadn't actually been ready for that last step. Hopefully, now her fears would be assuaged.

At last, she heard the latch click, and she quickly grabbed her own door handle, exiting into the hallway. Anna swung her own door shut.

"Morning, Anna!" Elsa said cheerfully. "Sleep well?"

Anna turned to look at her.

In the half hour or so that she had spent rehearsing what she would say, Elsa had wondered what Anna's reaction would be. She might have greeted it with a smile, or an embarrassed chuckle, or a torrential deluge of words, as she was wont to do. Knowing Anna, she had considered it entirely possible that she'd walk right up to her and kiss her, right there.

What she hadn't expected was that look.

Anna glowered at her, staring daggers. "No," she said, her voice duller than Elsa had ever heard it. Then she turned away, walking towards the stairway.

Elsa was caught completely off guard. She had never seen Anna act like this, and she certainly hadn't expected it now, after what she had done.

She hurried after her, trying to figure out what was wrong. "I'm – I'm sorry to hear that. Can I help?"

"No," said Anna, still walking. "You've proven that much."

The line was a gut punch for Elsa. On top of confirming her fear that this was her own fault, it was a downright nasty thing to say. And Anna was actually speeding up, almost running now. This day had turned horrible in record time.

"Anna, wait!" she cried out. "What's wrong? Did I do something bad?"

Anna stopped in her tracks. She turned around, looking at Elsa like she had just said the dumbest thing ever. Then she turned back around, quickly climbing down the stairs.

Elsa slumped against the wall.

 _Have I really ruined this already?_

xxxxxxx

Breakfast was a hearty omelet, with green peppers and miniature cubes of ham. Anna wouldn't talk to her.

Lunch featured a variety of different sandwiches, from ham and cheese to egg and cress, on toasted rye bread. Anna still wouldn't talk to her.

Dinner was a three course meal featuring roast pork, fresh greens and a meaty soup. Anna still wouldn't talk to her.

Twice after breakfast, and three times after lunch, Elsa had sought her out, trying to get her to explain what was wrong. Anna wouldn't budge an inch, and by now, Elsa was growing desperate.

She had tried apologizing, but it only made things worse when it became clear that she still had no clue what she was apologizing for. She had tried to change the subject, but Anna would have none of it. She even gave her a bunch of flowers as an apology, which she had glanced at once before dropping them in a nearby vase, then walked away. Now, she had locked herself in her room, and it didn't look like she was coming out any time soon.

Elsa glanced at the clock. Already, it was almost seven. Ten hours of scorn and isolation from Anna, and she was losing her mind. She had gone over that last night a hundred times in her mind, thinking about every step she had done, and she still had no clue what Anna was mad about. What else could she do? She had nobody else to talk to about this.

Strike that, actually. She had exactly one person to talk to. And she was pretty sure that he wouldn't be too happy about what she had to say.

xxxxxxx

Some days, it seemed like all Kristoff did was polish his sled. Often she'd walk by its storage room four or five times a day, and there he'd be, rubbing a cloth down the sides, polishing it to a mirror sheen, yet never seeming to get tired of the repetitive action.

She found him there now, this time retouching the paint on the runners. She hovered outside the doorway, trying to think of how she could possibly phrase what she had to say in a way that would hurt him the least.

 _Hey, Kristoff, how's it going? Hey, you know Anna, that girl you kind of like who's the only real reason you're here? Well, I'm sleeping with her. Yes, my sister. But don't worry, it was all my idea to begin with. So it's not your fault at all that I'm spending more time with her, and you're just out here with this sled…Anyway, she's mad at me, can you help me figure out why?_

Elsa sighed. This was going to be painful, but she had no other choice. She stepped timidly into the room, calling out to Kristoff.

"Oh, hey, Elsa," he said, looking up from his work. "How are things?"

"Not good, Kristoff," she said sadly. "Not good at all."

His face quickly turned serious. "Is this about Anna?" he asked.

Elsa nodded, still arranging the proper words in her mind.

He sighed. "Look, if this is about the stuff you two are doing together, then do me a favor – skip past the lovey-dovey stuff and get to the part where you screwed up."

Elsa was shocked. "How did you…did Anna…?"

"Oh, come on, at least give me a little credit," Kristoff said indignantly. "You two aren't exactly subtle."

Elsa blushed. "Really?"

"Ever since I first met you two," he continued, "you haven't been able to keep your hands off each other. I figured it was only a matter of time before you just flat out started dating. Then, two days ago, Anna walks right up to me and asks me to help set up a lunch between the two of you. Wasn't too hard to figure out."

"Oh," Elsa said, turning apologetic. "I'm sorry, Kristoff, I know you two were…"

"Hey, don't worry about it," he said amiably. "You two love each other a lot, that's obvious. I can't stand in the way of true love. If you guys are happy together, I'm happy."

Elsa smiled, but it quickly faded as she realized the double meaning of his words.

"IF you guys are happy," he repeated. "Which brings us back to the part where you screwed up. What did you do that made Anna start stomping around the castle like she hates everything?"

Elsa sighed. "I don't know, Kristoff, I really don't. I did something that I thought would make her happy, but it didn't, and I don't know why."

"Well, what, exactly, did you do?" he asked.

Elsa turned a deep red. "We…I…I came into her room, in the middle of the night, and I…" She trailed off.

Kristoff looked puzzled, but then a look of understanding overtook his face. "Oh," he said, eyes widening. "Oh."

Elsa nodded.

He pressed on, clearly as uncomfortable as Elsa was. "Like…on a scale of one to ten, with ten being…you know, all the way…"

"Ten," Elsa answered, wondering if it was possible to be more embarrassed than she was right now.

"Oh, wow," Kristoff said, clearly caught off guard. "How long have you guys been doing this? Like, officially doing this?"

Elsa managed to turn even redder. "About a week," she mumbled.

"A week?" he repeated incredulously, clapping a hand to his head. "Jesus Christ."

"She seemed like she was ready," Elsa said defensively.

"Okay, okay, I get it, I get it, I get it," Kristoff said quickly.

"Sorry," Elsa said.

"So, after you...did that…what did Anna say?" he asked.

"Uh, she didn't really say anything," Elsa answered.

Kristoff raised an eyebrow. "Really? Anna didn't have anything to say?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I left right after I finished."

Kristoff's mouth dropped open, and he stared at her. "You did WHAT?"

"I…I left," Elsa said, a little scared at his tone.

For maybe the first time since she had known him, Kristoff looked genuinely mad. "You left her alone, right at the most emotional moment in her life?"

"Yes, I just thought…oh my god," she said.

Throughout the whole day, while she had replayed every second of last night's events in her mind, she hadn't even considered the fact that she had left might have anything to do with it.

 _When I left her, everything was fine._

 _When I left her._

What had been the one thing that Anna had asked of her?

 _Whatever you want, just don't leave me._

How could she have been so stupid, to think that it would end just because she satisfied her physically?

"Oh my god," she said again, taking a step back. "Kristoff, I screwed up, big time."

"Yeah, no kidding!" Kristoff said.

"Jesus Christ, I must be the stupidest person in the world," she said.

"I can't really argue with you there," he agreed.

She turned to him. "What do I do, Kristoff?" she asked.

"What do you do?" he replied. "You go to Anna and apologize immediately, that's what you do!"

"She doesn't want to listen to me," Elsa said.

"Then freeze her feet to the floor and force her to listen!" Kristoff shouted. "Say it a hundred times if you have to. Make sure she knows that you still love her. You need to do everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, that you possibly can to make things right. Go, right now!"

Elsa gathered her resolve. "You're right, I will. Thanks, Kristoff!" She ran off towards Anna's room.

"And be careful!" he shouted after her. "I don't want to see either of you get hurt!"

xxxxxxx

Elsa reached the bedroom door, still locked. She knocked.

"Anna? Please, open this door, I need to talk to you."

No reply.

"Please, Anna, I know you're mad, but just let me explain."

She listened close, her ear pressed against the door. No sound of any kind of movement.

"I shouldn't have left you, Anna," she shouted. "It was a stupid thing to do. You're absolutely right to be mad at me, and I'm probably the worst sister in the world, but you have to believe me, I didn't mean to hurt you! Please, just let me in so I can apologize to your face!"

She was painfully aware of the irony in this situation. How many times had Anna been in exactly the same position as she was now, begging for her sister to come out? Yet here they were, roles perfectly reversed.

 _Except that it was my fault both times._

How much pain had she caused Anna over these years? Did she even deserve to be forgiven? For anything she had done to her sister?

She heard the lock click.

 _Maybe I don't. But I'm going to ask her for it anyway._

The door swung open, and Anna stood on the other side. Her eyes were bloodshot.

"Come in," she said hoarsely. "And don't say anything."

Elsa obeyed, slipping into the room before Anna closed the door with a thud.

"Anna-" she began.

"Don't talk," Anna said again, more forcefully.

Elsa immediately stopped.

"You're going to listen to what I have to say," she said. "And then, when I'm done, you can tell me how sorry you are. Is that clear?"

Elsa nodded.

"Good." Anna took a deep breath. It was clear she wasn't enjoying this any more than Elsa was. Elsa waited silently for her to begin, trying to assess just how much damage she had caused this time.

She took another deep breath, then began. "You could have at least explained it to me," she said, voice trembling.

 _What?_

"I'm an adult, I deserve to know," she continued. "Maybe you just weren't comfortable saying it outright. I can understand that. But I still wish you had just come out and said it. 'Anna, I don't want to do this anymore.'"

Elsa's eyes widened. "No, Anna, that's not-"

Anna silenced her with a glare.

"Things went too far for you, you wanted to stop but couldn't see a way out, so you just decided to skip right to the end," Anna said, her voice growing shakier by the second. "Get it all over with, so we could go back to being…what we were before. If that's what you wanted, I can absolutely understand. But you could have respected my intelligence and explained it to me, instead of just leaving me to figure it out alone!"

With this, Anna's voice finally broke, and she started crying, dropping her head into her hands. Elsa rushed to her side, reaching out a hand.

"That isn't what I wanted at all, Anna! I loved what we were doing, every second of it. You have to believe me."

Anna recoiled from her touch. "Then why would you do that to me?" she asked. "Why would you leave me like that?"

Elsa looked into her eyes.

 _No lying. I have to tell her the truth._

"Because you were ready and I wasn't," she said, looking down. "I thought, if I stayed, you might try to…pay me back. I just tried to…satisfy you. So you could be happy."

Silence fell. Anna stared at her, mouth open.

"I'm sorry, Anna," she said.

"Is that…all that you thought I wanted?" Anna began.

Her voice turned harsh. "A quick fuck?"

Elsa looked up, staggered. Anna never used such harsh language.

"Those kisses, those dates, the cuddling – you didn't think that meant anything to me?" Anna continued, growing louder. "That I was just using it all as a means to an end?"

Elsa took a step back. "No, Anna, that's not what I'm saying…"

"Well, that's what it sounds like to me!" she shouted, advancing on her. "Silly little Anna, all she wants is for her sister to make her cum. You'd better satisfy her quick, so you can stop pretending to care about her feelings! All that time you spent, pretending to enjoy spending time with her – it must have been exhausting!"

"It's not," insisted Elsa, getting desperate. "I enjoyed it, all of it. I love you, Anna. You know that."

"Of course you do!" she shouted, surprising Elsa with her alacrity. "And I love you too. Do you really think, after all that we've been through, I could forget that?"

Elsa said nothing. Anna turned her back on her.

"But it seems you don't respect me, that's for damn sure," she said.

Elsa slumped her shoulders, finding no words to defend herself. Anna was in pain, and it was all her fault.

"I'm sorry, Anna," she said again. "I never wanted to hurt you. I'll do everything I can to make this right."

Anna turned around. Her face was contorted into a mask of forced calm.

"Here's how this is going to work," she said, her voice unnervingly tranquil. "You're going to leave, and I'm going to think long and hard about where we go from here. Maybe a couple days, maybe weeks. During this time, you are going to leave me alone, absolutely and completely. And maybe, just maybe, when I'm done thinking, I'll decide to forgive you, and then maybe we can go back to where we were before this whole thing started."

Elsa's heart throbbed. "And…if you don't?"

There was silence. Elsa looked into Anna's frighteningly calm eyes, trying to read her expression.

"You locked me out for 15 years, Elsa," she said. "I promise I won't take that long."

Her heart stopped.

 _Oh my god, what have I done to her?_

Anna stepped to her side, gesturing towards the door. "Now leave," she said.

But Elsa wouldn't move. She couldn't leave her, not like this.

"No, Anna, I'm not leaving you."

"Now."

"Please, we have to work this out-"

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" Anna screamed.

Elsa stepped back, as if she had been struck. Anna stood there, fury boiling in her eyes.

It was as if a haze had descended over the whole world.

 _This isn't happening. This can't be happening._

She turned towards the door, refusing to believe that what had just happened was real.

She took a step. Then another.

Then, as if some cosmic force snapped its fingers, everything came crashing down.

She collapsed, falling to the ground. By the time her body hit the floor, she was sobbing.

 _I ruined it. I had the best sister in the world, and I ruined everything we had together._

The tears poured out, and no force on earth could have stopped them.

xxxxxxx

Anna gasped, clapping her hands to her mouth.

 _What am I doing? I don't want this!_

She flew to her sister's side, the anger that had clouded her judgment dissolving like smoke.

She kneeled down. "Elsa! Elsa, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to go that far!"

Elsa offered no response, continuing to cry.

"Please, Elsa, I didn't mean what I said, I was just mad!" she said desperately.

"No!" Elsa wailed, voice filled with grief.

The word wrenched Anna's heart. "Please, you have to listen, Elsa! I don't hate you!"

Elsa gave no indication that she heard her, still sobbing.

 _Oh god,_ _I broke her heart!_


	10. Chapter 10: Once lost

**Chapter ten**

 **Once lost**

The first thing Elsa saw was a pink pillow.

She opened her eyes wider, and registered several other things: more pillows in varying shades of red, a wide open window through which sunlight was streaming, and a frilly lamp on a nightstand.

Gently, someone placed a hand on her shoulder. "Wondered when you were going to get up," a familiar voice said.

"Anna," she said, rolling onto her back and looking at her. Her voice came out low and raspy.

Anna smiled, then quickly tried to hide it. She held out a bowl in front of her. "Soup?"

"Oh. Uh, sure," Elsa said. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, and Anna handed her the bowl and a spoon. "Breakfast?" she asked.

Anna shook her head. "Lunch."

Elsa looked out the window again. The sun was high, and the morning chirping of bluebirds was suspiciously absent.

"Anna, how long was I asleep?" she rasped.

"About ten hours," Anna said matter-of-factly.

"Then how-"

"Of course," she continued, "if you want to add to that the time you spent crying your eyes out in my bed, you'll get a much higher number."

Elsa swallowed. Memories of the previous night now rushed back to her, clear as day.

She turned. "Anna-"

"Eat," Anna commanded. "You barely touched your supper last night, you must be starving."

Elsa wasn't about to disobey her, so she started to eat the soup, a thick white chowder. She was, in fact, quite hungry, and she found the hot soup delicious. But as she thought over Anna's words, Elsa realized something else.

 _You wouldn't make eye contact with me at dinner. But you were still watching me, still concerned, even when you had every reason to be mad at me._

 _Jesus Christ, I don't deserve a sister like you._

She ate the soup as fast as she could, keeping her eyes on her sister, searching for any indication as to what she was feeling. Anna sat there, watching her, expressionless. More than once, Elsa burnt her tongue. Each time, she thought she saw a look of sympathy in Anna's eyes, quickly suppressed. Other times, a glare flew across her face, gone as quickly as it had arrived.

 _She's still upset,_ Elsa thought. _But she's trying to hide it from me. Why?_

The answer came quickly. _Because she knows you can't take any more. She is willing to suppress her anger to keep you from getting hurt._

Again, Elsa marveled at how considerate her sister was. Why couldn't she be this good?

 _You tried. Look where that got you._

Finally, her spoon scraped the bottom of the bowl. She set it on the side table, swallowed her last mouthful, and turned to Anna, preparing to speak.

"Don't tell me you're sorry," Anna preempted.

Elsa was taken aback. "What? But…I am," she insisted.

Anna sighed. "You spent six hours crying on my floor, Elsa. I know you're sorry."

"Oh, right. Of course," Elsa said, feeling foolish.

Anna folded her arms, staring at her expectantly. "What I want, Elsa, is a promise."

Elsa understood immediately. "That I won't ever do this to you again." she said.

Anna nodded.

It would be that easy, Elsa realized. If she just made this one promise, everything would be fixed. It still might take a few days longer for Anna to forgive her, but after that, they would go back to how they had been before. And right now, Elsa wanted nothing more than that.

Which made what she knew she had to say even more painful.

"I'm sorry, Anna," she said. "I can't promise you that."

Anna was caught off guard, the surprise finally breaking her emotionless mask.

"I want to," Elsa said quickly, "Believe me, I do. But it won't change anything."

"What do you mean?" Anna said.

"Anna, I never wanted to hurt you in the first place. What I did – it was a mistake, a stupid mistake, and I'll never do it again. That doesn't mean I won't make another mistake that hurts you later. Or maybe you'll do something that hurts me. I don't have any experience with…anything that we've been doing. Neither of us do."

Anna listened to her intently, neither confirming nor denying anything she was saying.

Elsa continued, her voice wavering. "If we go back to doing what we were, one of us will make another mistake in a week or two. We'll just keep screwing up over and over again, and eventually…" She swallowed. "Eventually, Anna, we won't be able to come back from it."

Anna stayed silent for a moment, thinking. Then she sighed. "You're right," she said. "We can't keep going the same way we have been."

Elsa nodded, feeling tears welling up in her eyes.

"So," Anna continued, leaning in towards her, "we're going to have to make some changes."

"Changes?" Elsa repeated, surprised. She had been about to go in a much different direction.

"First of all," Anna began, "no more guessing what it is either of us want. I'll tell you exactly what it is that I want, and you'll do the same. Even if you want to surprise me, make sure that you know exactly how I'd feel about it beforehand. Can you do that?"

Elsa nodded quickly. "Yes," she said.

"Next, no more hiding from each other. If you ever do something that hurts me again, I promise I'll tell you right away. Will you do the same for me?"

"I will," she said.

"Good," Anna said.

She moved even closer, staring right into Elsa's eyes.

"Just one more thing," she said solemnly. "This might be the most important one. Ready?"

Elsa nodded.

"I need to know," Anna said, "that you'll be there for me when I need you. Whenever I need you."

Elsa tried to speak, but Anna held up a hand, silencing her.

"I can't be with you every minute of every day, for the rest of our lives," she continued. "I can accept that. But I need to know that, whenever I need you, there won't be a locked door between us. I need to know that, whenever I ask you to spend some time alone with me, whether it's for a few hours of a few weeks, you'll drop everything and do it for me."

Elsa stared at her sister, wide-eyed. Now, she realized, everything was coming out. The glimpse of Anna's suppressed emotions that she had seen at the play – it was all coming forward, here in one massive wave.

Her voice turned raw and emotional. "I know it's selfish," she said, tears welling in her eyes. "I know I'm asking you to do more for me than any sister could ever be expected to. I don't care. This is what I need from you. If you can't do that for me…"

Finally, she broke down, the tears she had tried to suppress flowing freely. "I'll understand," she managed.

Just watching her cry was agony for Elsa. She opened her arms wide, and Anna willingly collapsed into them, wrapping her arms around Elsa's body.

"Yes," Elsa said. "Yes, I promise I'll be there for you. Whenever you need me, I'll be there. That's a promise!"

Anna, still crying, could only nod.

Elsa wanted to do much more than that. She wanted to hold her in her arms and tell her that everything would be fine from now on. She wanted to make up for every last tear that Anna had shed because of her, to give back each and every one of their lost 15 years.

 _I will,_ she told herself. _And then however many years I have left after that._

Now, her mind was made up. Every misgiving she had ever had about their future down this road was gone. She knew, now, that she wanted to live the rest of her life as close to Anna as she could be.

Finally, Anna's tears stopped flowing, though she still refused to relax her grip. "Thank you," she whispered into Elsa's shoulder. "Thank you so much, Elsa."

"I love you," Elsa said.

"I love you too," Anna replied.

There was really nothing else to say. For the longest time, they simply lay there in each other's arms.

"Hold on," Elsa said after a while. "You never asked me what I wanted."

"Oh," said Anna, "of course. What do you want?"

"A smile," Elsa said, grinning. "And a kiss."

Anna gave her both in a heartbeat.


	11. Chapter 11: Return to progress

**Chapter eleven**

 **Return to progress**

Elsa woke up in a sea of red. Not a bad thing in itself, but a few clumps had ended up in her mouth.

Careful not to pull on any of the numerous hairs in her mouth, she delicately pulled them out, one by one. Once this delicate maneuver was complete, she allowed herself to contemplate the rest of the picture presented to her.

Anna's hair, it seemed, had a mind of its own. Freed from its twin plaits, it exploded from her head, seeking out every crack and crevice of its surroundings, snarling and tangling of its own accord. She had observed this phenomenon before, of course, but she had never been so…intimately close to it.

Safely freed from the scarlet tangle, Elsa climbed out of the bed, taking care not to wake Anna. This time, rather than returning in one big burst, memories of the previous day slowly trickled back into her conscious mind.

After her big promise, they had spent most of the rest of the day in Anna's room, and a lot of that time in her bed. Talking, laughing, crying, kissing, and eventually cuddling, the hours had seemed to fly by, the joy of being on speaking terms again steadily mending the damage they had caused each other.

Unfortunately, Elsa realized, the smell of the room – and of the two of them – had started to reflect the time they had spent in it. No magic on earth – even the magic of true love – could prevent that. A bath would work wonders on her, in more ways than one.

While she regretted leaving Anna, even for the short time it would take to draw a bath, the voice of reason pointed out that Anna probably wouldn't be awake for hours. At any rate, if she was going to be the first thing Anna saw when she woke up, it wouldn't hurt to be as attractive as possible at that point. She quickly scribbled down an explanation on a scrap piece of paper in case Anna woke before she returned, then tiptoed to the door, sliding it open as quietly as possible.

As she stepped out, she looked back at Anna. Still sprawled over her side of the bed, with her tangle of red hair and cute yellow nightgown, she looked nothing short of adorable. Elsa stifled a giggle.

That was the amazing thing about Anna, Elsa thought as she eased the door closed behind her. No matter what the situation, she never failed to look adorable.

xxxxxxx

That was the amazing thing about Elsa, Anna thought as she watched her slip out through nearly closed eyes. No matter what the situation, she never failed to look gorgeous.

Anna sat up, stretching. Her muscles were sore from her deliberately holding herself in place for so long, but she simply hadn't wanted to break away from the magic that was their closeness.

She twisted her back, relishing the popping noise her spine made. Once this vital task was complete, she picked up the note Elsa had left her.

 _Went to take a bath, will be back as soon as I can. Love you! 3_

Anna smiled. She sniffed the underside of her armpit. Come to think of it, she could use a bath, too.

 _Maybe I should join her._

Anna dismissed the thought quickly. As pleasing as the thought of seeing Elsa naked was to her, she wasn't sure they were back to that point yet.

 _Hell, she wasn't at that point before._

The only recourse now, it seemed, was to wait for Elsa to return, then go take a bath herself. Which meant that, for most of the next hour or so, she'd be pretty much alone again.

She felt her heart growing heavy with this thought, a tide of sadness rising within her. Angrily, she forced it down.

 _No. I am not going to dissolve into a puddle of tears every time I'm alone for fifteen seconds._

If she had an hour to herself, that just meant an hour to plan out the perfect date for her and Elsa. Some of her best ideas had come in half that time.

But after twenty minutes, Anna still hadn't come up with anything.

Where could they possibly go from here? What was the logical next step for them? What do couples normally do after a big fight?

She chuckled. _Normally? As if there could ever be such a thing with us._

She walked to the open window. Maybe some fresh air would help clear her mind.

Looking out at the countryside, Anna reviewed the criteria today's date would have to meet. Informal, but not lazy. Relaxed, but at least a little intimate. Probably outside, after the day they'd spent cooped up. Maybe something they could invite friends to, but not exactly-

"Hey! Anna!" came a voice from far, far below. She looked down.

There, standing in the grassy field outside their windows, stood Kristoff, holding up a cardboard sign with writing scrawled on it. When he saw that she was looking, he started waving the sign back and forth. This, combined with the sloppy handwriting, made it very hard for her to read what was actually written on the sign.

HOW DID IT WORK OUT BETWEEN YOU TWO, she managed to make out.

Anna felt a pang of guilt. She hadn't talked to him for two days – he must have been worried sick.

She gave two thumbs up gestures, spreading her arms as wide as she could to make sure he saw. Instantly, she saw him jump a couple feet in the air, causing him to drop his sign.

She giggled. Even from this distance, she recognized a jump for joy when she saw one.

Kristoff picked the sign up again, then flipped it over.

THAT'S GREAT! DO YOU GUYS WANT TO GO ON A PICNIC WITH US?

Anna had to read the sign again, to make sure she understood it correctly.

A picnic? Of all the things to suggest, why that? What about the scenario suggested they would want to…

Her mind went back to what she had just been thinking. She smiled. Looking back down at Kristoff, she shot him another double thumbs up.

The man was a genius.

xxxxxxx

"This looks like a nice place," Kristoff remarked, gesturing at the flat, grassy ground in front of them.

"Sure," Anna agreed, unrolling the checkered cloth they had brought.

Elsa, ever pragmatic, looked around for anthills, but there didn't seem to be any nearby. It seemed, for all the world, like the perfect place for the five of them to eat.

"All right," said Kristoff, opening up the large basket he had brought. "There's two sandwiches for each of us to start, with a couple extra. I also packed some pink lemonade, a few apples, and…"

He trailed off, looking into the basket. He reached inside and pulled out an empty plate, with crumbs on top of it. "Carrot cake," he finished. He glared at the other two who had followed them.

Olaf quickly pointed at Sven. Sven, bereft of fingers, could only stare back at Olaf in an accusatory manner.

Kristoff turned to the girls, sighing. "Well, I guess we won't be having the carrot cake, after all."

Anna giggled. "Relax, Kristoff. It's fine."

"But this happens every time we…" He sighed again. "Fine."

He started to unpack the basket. "Olaf," he said, "What kind of sandwich would you like to start with?"

"Oh, none for me, thanks," Olaf said. "I'm full."

Kristoff stopped, mid-motion. He glared at Olaf.

Olaf stared back, clueless. "What?"

xxxxxxx

Kristoff kept glowering at Olaf as they ate. Elsa and Anna kept telling him to let it slide, but he remained adamant. Apparently, this wasn't the first time a cake had gone missing, and Kristoff himself had been blamed once before. Olaf, of course, was completely oblivious to his ire, failing to register the invisible death rays emanating from Kristoff's eyes. Eventually, he gave up and simply dropped the matter.

Outside of Kristoff's lingering resentment, it was a very pleasant meal. There wasn't a cloud in the sky – Elsa made sure of it – and a calm breeze ensured the perfect temperature. The food was delicious, the view was beautiful – and, of course, the company was wonderful.

"This," Elsa proclaimed, "is nice."

"Glad you like it," Kristoff said. "I wasn't sure what you guys liked, so I asked the kitchen staff…"

"No, I mean, this picnic," she clarified. "Just us, hanging out together."

"Oh," he said. "Thanks."

"When was the last time we did something like this together?" Anna asked. "Just the five of us."

"Your birthday," Elsa answered. "We had a party, there was cake…" She pressed her hand to her forehead. "I can't remember what else happened, but we had a lot of fun, right?"

"Some of us," Kristoff said, "more than others."

"You had a cold, remember?" Anna prompted. "And all of us were only together for, like, a couple minutes."

"Plus, your little snow guys ate all the cake," Kristoff pointed out. Raising his voice, he added, "Behavior that their older brother seems to have picked up as well!" He looked back at Olaf.

"You don't have to shout, Kristoff," Olaf said. "We're right here."

Kristoff sighed, defeated. Elsa scratched her head.

"So, if all that happened," she said, "why do I remember being so happy?"

Anna grinned. "Because I was there with you, doofus!"

Elsa laughed. "Oh, right, duh. That would do it."

They both giggled again. Elsa, in fact, had done more giggling than eating during the picnic. There was just something about today that made her feel uncontrollably happy.

Then Anna placed her hand on top of Elsa's, sending a brief jolt of electricity up her arm and into her spine. Elsa turned to look at her, smiling.

 _Her. I'm guessing it's her._

Anna smiled back, and to Elsa, that sight alone was more beautiful than anything around them. Yep, there was no doubt about it – it was Anna that was lifting her spirits.

They hadn't even kissed – okay, they had kissed once, at the start of the picnic, but it was agreed that they'd do their best to not make it awkward for the guys – but it didn't seem to matter. Just being near her, holding hands, was enough.

 _How could I have ever thought she'd want to skip this?_

Regret flared within her, but the sickening feeling that accompanied it was quickly extinguished. So was any negative feeling that so much as threatened to come between her and Anna.

Kristoff watched the two, smiling.

"Are they having a staring contest?" Olaf piped up.

This comment broke Kristoff out of it, though the girls seemed oblivious.

"What? No," he answered quietly. "They're just in love."

"True love?" Olaf offered.

Kristoff chuckled. "You'd better believe it."


	12. Chapter 12: Royal Entanglements

**Chapter twelve**

 **Royal entanglements**

Watching Anna wake up, Elsa decided, was a morning routine she could definitely get used to.

As she had discovered, Anna went through a whole series of phases before fully waking up. Her breathing started to speed up, her snores got quieter and quieter, and she'd start squirming a little. After two weeks of up-close observation, it was almost like clockwork to her.

Now, as the light of a new day shone across the bed, Anna's eyes opened. Elsa, of course, sitting in a chair at the foot of their bed, was the first thing she saw.

"Morning, beautiful," Elsa said, smiling.

Anna buried her face in a pillow. "Morning, creepazoid," she mumbled through it.

Elsa chuckled. Anna's early morning crankiness was, just like seemingly every other aspect of her, adorable.

She yanked off the covers. "Come on, sleepyhead, we've got a lot of stuff to do today!"

Anna groaned. "But I don't want to do stuff," she whined. "Can't we just stay in bed all day?"

"We've already done that," Elsa reminded her. "Four times."

Anna remained unmoving. "And your point is?"

"I'm a queen, you're a princess. We have business to do."

Anna made a weird groaning noise.

"We have foreign dignitaries to meet."

She groaned twice as loud.

Elsa smiled devilishly. "We have chocolate fondue to eat."

That, at last, got her attention.

Anna looked straight at her. "You said that machine was broken."

"It was," Elsa said. "I had it fixed."

The hunger in Anna's eyes burned bright. Elsa fought the urge to giggle at her melodramatic behavior.

"So," she continued. "Ready to get up yet?"

Anna assumed a thoughtful position. "I don't know, I feel like I haven't been incentivized enough yet."

Elsa's grin widened. "Let's see if we can fix that," she said, crawling onto the bed.

xxxxxxx

Fifteen minutes later, Anna finally managed to pry herself apart from Elsa.

"Okay," she said, breathing heavily, "I think I've been incentivized enough now."

"Too bad," Elsa said. "Because now I want to stay in bed all day."

xxxxxxx

Fortunately, the appointment with the foreign dignitaries wasn't until midday. The two of them managed to accomplish all the vices they had planned for and still arrive, on time, in the castle foyer to greet their guests.

The guests in question were two: a couple, both with dark hair. Anna vaguely remembered seeing them at the coronation, but couldn't place a name to either of them.

"Welcome, distinguished guests," Elsa said, bowing to them before shaking their hands. "I trust the journey here was pleasant?"

They both nodded.

"We're sorry we couldn't meet with you sooner," Anna said. "We had pressing matters to attend to."

"Of course," the man said. "By the way, you've got a little…"

He wiped a thumb across his mouth demonstratively. Elsa turned and saw, to her horror, that Anna still had chocolate sauce all over her lips. Anna smiled sheepishly.

"Anna!" she hissed, pulling out a handkerchief. "I told you, that's what napkins are for!"

"Really?" Anna said, licking her lips. "I thought that was what tongues were for."

Elsa was mortified, but the man laughed good-naturedly.

"It's all right," he said. "If I was royalty, I'd never use napkins, either."

"You are royalty, Eugene," the woman reminded him.

"Really? Then why do you always make me use a napkin?" he responded playfully.

The woman shot him the same look Elsa had just shot Anna a moment before. "Manners, Eugene," she chided.

"Of course, sorry," Eugene replied. He stuck out his hand. "Eugene, of Corona."

Elsa and Anna each shook it, in turn.

The woman raised an eyebrow at Eugene, but she, too, extended her hand. "Rapunzel of Corona," she said pleasantly.

"If you like," Eugene added, "you can call me Eugene the Mighty."

Rapunzel snorted. "Really?" she said, unimpressed.

Eugene folded his arms, faking irritation. "Yes, really. Are you suggesting that the queen and princess of Arendelle should not be permitted to come up with titles for those around them?"

"Well, sure," Rapunzel retorted, "but they should at least make sense."

Eugene opened his mouth to continue the squabble, but thought better of it. He turned back to Elsa and Anna, who were trying their best not to snicker.

"Anyway, it's great to be here in this beautiful kingdom of yours," he said. "Really quite pleasant."

"As you are no doubt aware," Rapunzel said, "My parents have sent us here to engender beneficial relations between our two kingdoms."

Elsa stood there, not responding. Anna scratched her head awkwardly.

"You did receive the letter informing you of our arrival, right?" Rapunzel asked.

"Of course," Elsa said, "we did. It's just…"

Anna chimed in. "We still aren't quite sure about how we're supposed to do that whole 'engendering' thing."

Rapunzel looked puzzled. "You know, various…regal…activities?"

Elsa, Anna, and Eugene all stared at her, each with the same blank expression.

She sighed. "I was actually kind of hoping you two might know what we're supposed to do," she confessed. "My upbringing didn't exactly provide me with a lot of information on making friends of any kind."

"Believe me," Elsa said, "I can relate."

The room was swathed in silence.

After a while, Elsa piped up. "Do you guys like sledding?" she asked.

Rapunzel's face lit up. "Of course!" she exclaimed.

"Me too!" Eugene said. "I love it!"

xxxxxxx

"Perhaps," Eugene shouted over the wind, voice full of bravado in a futile attempt to disguise his fear, "I should have qualified my statements back at the castle!"

Again, he glanced down the mountainside, at the long, uninterrupted path of compacted snow leading straight to the bottom. All the way to the bottom.

"What do you mean?" Rapunzel asked, climbing into the sled, sitting down in front of Anna. "You said you loved sledding."

"Yes, I did say that," he said quickly. "I absolutely remember saying that. What I do NOT recall, however, was saying that I wanted to start with the longest, fastest route in the entire continent."

"Come on," Elsa said, holding the sled in place from the back. "I've spent weeks working on this route, it's totally safe. There's no rocks, no trees – it's a straight line to the bottom."

"So is falling off a cliff," Eugene pointed out, voice cracking on the last word. He looked back at the icy gondola that had brought them to this height, thinking about any possible way to request a safe, slow trip back down without emasculating himself.

"Come on, don't be a baby," Rapunzel said. "None of the girls have a problem with it."

 _Well, there goes my masculinity anyway._

He sighed. "Okay, okay," he said, climbing into the sled.

"Another thing I don't remember," he said, getting into a sitting position, "is requesting to sit at the very front."

Anna laughed. "You have to be in front, silly. You're the heaviest one of us."

Eugene opened his mouth. Then, realizing the repercussions of anything he might attempt to say, he closed it immediately.

"If you were in the back," she continued, "it'd just slow us down."

"Yes, of course," he mumbled. "Wouldn't want that, would we?"

Gazing straight ahead, he had a tremendous view of the countryside far, far below. They would be traveling straight down the mountain, at speeds, Elsa had assured him, which would make him want to lose his lunch. Even now, just looking at what he'd soon be speeding through, Eugene felt his lunch, breakfast, and even last night's dinner threatening to leave through the same path they had entered.

The wind began to pick up again, this time a massive tailwind of Elsa's design, no doubt intended to speed them up even further. "Ready?" she shouted to the other passengers of their four-person sled.

"I can confidently say that the answer to that question will never be 'yes,'" Eugene shouted.

"What?" Elsa yelled.

"He said 'yes,'" Rapunzel shouted back.

"Okay, here we go!" Elsa released the sled.

 _Whoosh_

Almost instantly, the sled shot forward, rocketing down the mountain at lightning speed. In spite of Elsa's magic, wind whipped furiously past his face. To either side of them, rocks and trees shot by, mere green and gray blurs.

Eugene started screaming almost immediately. It wasn't even something he put any conscious effort into doing – his mouth stayed open, and screams poured out. Behind him, the girls were also screaming, but it sounded more like cheering.

"Isn't this fun?" Rapunzel shouted.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Eugene shouted back.

Finally, after what seemed like decades, the slope began to level out, and the sled started to slow.

"We're almost at the end! Hold on tight!" Elsa shouted.

Eugene looked down at his hands, both of which were wrapped tightly around the sled's rim.

 _Don't worry about that,_ a tiny corner of his brain said, while the rest continued screaming bloody murder.

There was a scraping noise, and the sled jolted slightly as it slowed to a crawl on the level ground. Rapunzel slid forward slightly, running into Eugene, whose entire body was rigid as a board.

"Woohoo!" Anna shouted, jumping out of the sled. "That was awesome!" She turned to Rapunzel and Eugene. "How'd you guys like it?"

"Loved it," Rapunzel said, shooting her two thumbs up.

"Uhhhhh," Eugene said, leaning the top half of his body over the edge of the sled.

The girls turned to look at him. "Are you okay?" Elsa asked.

Without turning around, he raised one finger in the air. "Give me, like, ten seconds," he gasped.

The girls stared at him worriedly as he made a series of strange, unpleasant noises.

Eventually, he lifted his head and turned to them. He made a face that looked vaguely like a smile, and shakily lifted his thumb up. "That was fun," he said.

Elsa conjured up another gondola. "Who wants to go again?" she asked.

"Me!" Rapunzel shouted excitedly.

"Me too," Anna agreed.

Eugene straightened himself. "And I as well," he said as boldly as he could.

The others looked at him with surprise. "Are you sure, sweetie?" Rapunzel asked gently. "It's okay if you want to sit this one out."

"Of course I'm sure!" he declared. "I won't let something as paltry as fear get in the way of having a good time! I insist on riding again, and I assure you I will face it with all the dignity and maturity that could be expected of a prince such as myself."

The girls stared at him silently. Then Rapunzel gestured down to his trousers.

Eugene looked down and saw the stain slowly spreading across the fabric. His face turned red.

"Maybe I should go change first," he mumbled.

Turning around quickly, he started walking towards the castle. The other three watched him go.

"But THEN!" he declared, raising his finger in the air again. "Then, I assure you, I will ride again, with no less dignity or maturity for this minor setback!"

The girls continued to watch him until he left their vision.

Then, all three burst into laughter.

xxxxxxx

"Hold still, Anna," Rapunzel said. "I'm almost finished."

Anna fidgeted nonetheless as she felt Rapunzel's gentle manipulation of her hair. "You said that five minutes ago," she said.

"That was two minutes ago," Rapunzel corrected, "And I would be finished by now if you didn't fidget so much."

"Come on, Anna," Elsa said from her right, "I held still while she was fixing mine."

"Fine," Anna said. "I'll just sit here, eyes closed, not moving a muscle, waiting for you to do whatever it is you're-"

"Finished!" Rapunzel declared. "You can open your eyes now."

Anna opened her eyes, and Elsa did as well. They both smiled immediately.

Rapunzel had swapped their hairstyles, giving Elsa twin plaits while pulling all of Anna's hair into one long braid.

"Wow, that's impressive," Elsa said.

Elsa and Anna had both tried to do the same in the past, but it never turned out quite perfect for either of them. Now, Rapunzel had done it for the both of them.

"How did you get to be so good with hair?" Anna asked, toying with the braid in her fingers.

Rapunzel laughed. She leaned against a chair, her pink dress perfectly matching the chair's upholstery. "That's a long story," she said. "And honestly, I don't know if I could tell the whole thing without Eugene here."

Elsa twirled a pigtail around her finger idly. "Speaking of," she said, "where is he?"

Rapunzel shrugged. "Last time I saw him, he was talking to that big guy with the blond hair."

"Kristoff?" Anna said. "What could they be doing?"

"I don't know," Rapunzel said. "Guy stuff."

xxxxx

Kristoff's knuckles slammed against the table. Eugene let go of his hand, raising both in a triumphant gesture.

"And Eugene wins again!" he declared.

"That's not fair, you cheated," Kristoff said angrily, flexing his fingers.

"I never cheat," Eugene replied. "I just use creative tactics to ensure my victory."

"But you can't kick your opponent in arm wrestling!" Kristoff shouted.

"You're just jealous you didn't think of it first," Eugene responded.

Kristoff folded his arms. "If you cared about playing by the rules, I'd beat you every time," he said.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Eugene said. "It sounded like you said 'I want a rematch.'"

"Damn straight, I want a rematch!" Kristoff said. "This time, you're going down!"

"Bring it, deer boy!" Eugene shouted.

They clasped their hands together again.

xxxxxxx

"Uhhhhhhhhh," Anna groaned, lying flat on a plush couch.

Ten feet away from her, Eugene lay face down on another couch. "Uhhhhhhhhh," he agreed.

Meanwhile, in the conference room nearby, Elsa and Rapunzel sat, talking about economic relations, trade routes, tariffs, goods, services, and about a hundred other things that bored Anna out of her mind.

Initially, Anna and Eugene had been sitting next to them, but the other two had allowed them to leave when it became apparent that their total contributions to the discussions amounted to making faces at one another. (This, in fact, was not her fault; since they had agreed that Anna's usual recourse during boring meetings – groping Elsa's ass and legs – would not be appropriate during this particular event, and Anna had been eager to indulge in anything that would keep her mind off of indulging in her sister.)

However, Elsa insisted they stay close by, as all four of them would need to be present to agree upon the final arrangements, which left the two of them no choice but to lie there, doing sweet FA. After all the fun they'd had earlier in the day, the contrast was jarring.

Anna toyed with her new braid, spinning it around her fingers. _Is this all princesses normally do all day?_

She heard the sound of someone shifting, and turned to see Eugene slowly working his way into a sitting position.

Quickly, Anna sat up as well. Maybe he had something to say – some conversation that might liven things up.

Eugene cleared his throat. "So, are you two sleeping together, or what?"

Anna's eyes widened.

 _Yep, that livened it up in a hurry._

Apparently, seeing her reaction was confirmation enough for Eugene. "Thank god," he said. "It'd make things pretty awkward around here if I missed that call."

"H…How did you – I mean, what would even make you think that?" Anna amended.

"Besides the obvious failure to swoon the moment you laid eyes on me?" Eugene said. "Well, you two hold hands everywhere you go together, you stare into her eyes when you think nobody's looking, and when I walked past your guys' bedroom, it didn't look like Elsa had slept in her own bed for a long time."

Anna spluttered. "Well…that's still a huge leap to make…"

"Also, before I started making faces at you back there, you were staring at her ass and twitching your fingers."

Anna fell silent. Couldn't really argue with that one.

"Pro tip," Eugene said, leaning in. "Next time, sit on your hands. Putting them in your pockets just doesn't create enough of an obstacle for yourself. Trust me, I know."

Anna remained silent, waiting for the other shoe to fall.

"Uh, can I get some feedback from you here?" Eugene said.

"You're…okay with this?" Anna asked.

"With what?" Eugene asked, lost.

Anna stared at him like he was crazy.

"Oh, the lesbian thing!" he said. "Of course! Who doesn't like lesbians?"

Even as deeply surprised as she was, Anna couldn't help but laugh. "I mean, it's not just that," she said. "We're…you know, sisters."

Eugene assumed an expression of mock surprise. "What's that, you say? Incest, among royalty? Stop the presses!"

"So…you really are totally cool with it," Anna repeated, still finding it hard to believe.

"Yeah," Eugene said, starting to look confused. "What, did you think I'd make a fuss about it or something?"

"Well…yes, actually," Anna admitted. "A lot of people get mad about-"

"A lot of people get mad about everything," Eugene interrupted. "They tend to keep their mouths shut around royalty, though."

"True," Anna said, nodding.

"Besides," Eugene added, "I'm a thief who married a princess. There were more people complaining at our wedding than there would be at yours."

Anna was about to reply when the door to the conference room opened, and Rapunzel stuck her head out.

"We're almost done in here, guys," she said. "Just need you two to sign off."

"Perfect," Eugene said. "Just give us a couple seconds, okay, honey?"

"Got it," Rapunzel said.

She started to close the door, then opened it again.

"Thanks for being a good sport, Eugene," she said. "I know it's boring, and I'm really grateful you stuck through it."

Eugene smiled goofily. "Thanks, honey," he said, every ounce of swagger and boast in his voice gone.

Rapunzel smiled back, then closed the door.

Eugene turned to Anna. "That girl's made me happier than anyone else in the world," he said to her. "I can't imagine wanting to separate any couple who has that sort of connection."

As they stood and prepared to go into the conference room, Anna spoke up again.

"I mean," she said, "it's not like we'd be 'separated' anyway. We're sisters. We spend lots of time together all the time, and nobody thinks it's weird at all."

Eugene raised an eyebrow. "And you're okay with staying at that level?"

While Anna tried to think of a reply, Eugene walked through the door. Anna quickly followed.

It seemed, in the space of only a few minutes, she had forgotten how beautiful Elsa was. As soon as she entered the room and looked at Elsa, it hit her all over again. Her eyes swept all over Elsa's gorgeous figure, finishing on her lovely face. Elsa smiled back at her, an action that made her tingle all over.

By the time she had made it all the way through the door, her mind was made up.

 _No,_ she decided. _No, I'm not._


	13. Chapter 13: A proposition

**Chapter thirteen**

 **A proposition**

 _Just stay calm,_ Anna reminded herself. _That's the key here._

Easier said than done.

When she had first made her decision, she had merely felt jitters. Now, a day and a half later, she felt like her entire stomach was about to jump out her throat. Evidently, conviction in your choice of action didn't make its execution any less nerve-wracking.

She climbed the red stairs, heart pounding louder with every footstep. Part of her chastised herself for taking too long to actually get around to it, but she knew she had waited just the right length of time – it had taken quite some time to prepare what she needed, and late at night, she felt, would be the perfect time.

Now, if only she could quit jittering long enough to climb the damn stairs!

 _Stay calm,_ she repeated in her mind. _You've got the whole speech planned out, you practiced, like, 20 times. Just say the same thing you said 20 times before, and it'll go perfectly._

This thought gave her some comfort, although this relief was lessened somewhat by the knowledge that she had already screwed up the first part of her rehearsed speech not half an hour ago.

She owed Olaf and Kristoff a huge apology. She had gotten mad at them earlier for screwing up three lines – she couldn't even make it through one.

 _Go ahead, go to bed – I've got a couple things I need to do first._

That was how she had said it while practicing, perhaps twenty times over. But the one time it had actually mattered…

xxxxx

Elsa yawned. "What time is it?" she wondered aloud, glancing at the grandfather clock.

She stood up. "I think I'm gonna go to bed now." She turned to Anna, who was putting the pieces of their board game away. "You coming?"

Anna froze mid-motion. "No," she said quickly. "No, you go, go ahead. I need to…I have some…stuff I have to do."

"Really?" Elsa said, puzzled. "Like what?"

"Oh, you know," Anna said nervously. "Normal…stuff."

Elsa stood there, trying to figure out what she meant. Anna offered no clarification.

"Are you okay, Anna?" she asked. "You're acting a little funny."

"What? No I'm not," Anna said quickly.

Elsa didn't know how to respond. Silence ensued.

"Well…okay then," she said eventually. "Good night."

"Yeah," Anna said, grateful for the exit opportunity. "Good night."

Elsa turned around, heading for the stairs.

As she left the room, she heard a thumping noise that sounded distinctly like Anna banging her head against the table.

xxxxx

 _No I'm not._

The idiocy of that line bounced around in her head, even half an hour later. She shook her head, trying to forget about her own stupidity.

 _Just forget about it. Stay focused on what's important._

She made it to their bedroom door, which Elsa had closed, seemingly out of habit. She reminded herself again what she had practiced.

 _Knock three times. Just like you did the first time._

Anna, trying to keep her nerves steady, leaned forward and knocked.

 _Knock_

 _Knock_

 _Knock_

 _Thud_

She had leaned forward too far, and her head slammed right into the door.

If she hadn't felt like an idiot before, she certainly did now. She lifted her head off the door, cursing herself.

 _What the hell is wrong with me? I can't even balance on my own two feet? Maybe I should just give up right now, before she sees me flopping around out here like a –_

"Come in."

Anna stopped mid-thought. Almost instantly, she smiled.

Truly, her sister was magical indeed if all it took was two words to banish all the self-loathing thoughts from her mind.

Still, it was a trembling, shaky hand that turned the door handle. Anna swallowed, trying to compose herself as she pushed the door open.

Elsa was sitting on the bed, reading. She looked up at Anna with mild surprise. "Anna?"

Anna smiled nervously. "Of course. I mean, who else would it be? Were you expecting someone else in the middle of the night? Oh – not like that, I mean, I wasn't accusing you of…" She trailed off.

 _Smooth._

There was an awkward silence.

"Anyway," Anna said, fighting the urge to leave the room and start banging her head against the wall. "Elsa, I have something important I need to say. Do you have a minute?"

Elsa smiled. "For you, always," she said, swinging her legs off the bed.

Anna swallowed.

 _All right, try and do this without embarrassing yourself – further._

She cleared her throat. "Elsa, these last few weeks have been…truly amazing. I've never been happier, and I hope you feel the same."

Elsa nodded. "I do," she said.

Anna smiled. "In that case," she said, getting into her rehearsed parts, "I think we'd both agree that it would be in our best interests to continue along that same path." She turned to one side, starting to pace back and forth in front of Elsa.

"Of course, the best way to do that," she continued, gesturing randomly, "would be for us to somehow engineer a scenario where we could always be together, all the time."

 _So far, so good,_ she thought to herself. _Slowly inch your way closer to the main point._

"As sisters," she continued, "we couldn't do that, but there would be one way that we could."

Elsa said nothing. Anna completed her pace, and slowly turned back to Elsa.

"With that in mind," she said, "I have a proposition. Well, perhaps 'proposition' isn't quite the word I'm…" She trailed off, and her jaw dropped.

Elsa was down on one knee. And she had pulled out a small box.

"Sorry for interrupting," Elsa said. "I got impatient."

Anna was speechless. Every line of her rehearsed speech – along with everything else in her mind – had just disappeared.

Elsa looked into her eyes. "Princess Anna of Arendelle, there is nothing in this world I'd love more than to be with you, every day, for the rest of my life."

She opened the box, revealing a diamond ring.

"Will you marry me?"

Anna couldn't answer. In fact, she couldn't move a muscle. She simply stood there, paralyzed, as the shock and amazement washed over her.

Elsa stood there, patiently. Eventually, got a little concerned. "Anna?" she said, slightly worriedly.

In response, Anna lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Elsa and knocking them both to the floor.

"Yes!" Anna shouted, gasping slightly as the impact with the floor knocked the wind out of her. "Yes yes yes yes YES, I'll marry you!"

"That's…great," Elsa gasped, struggling to breathe with Anna pressed down on top of her.

"Oh, sorry," said Anna, rolling off her. Elsa inhaled deeply, panting for a few seconds.

Then, when she had caught her breath, she rolled over on top of Anna, and they kissed.

They stayed like that for hours, lying on the floor in each other's arms. Neither said a word, because, really, what more could be said?

And neither of them had ever been happier than in that moment.


	14. Interlude

INTERLUDE

Hans sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow. He stabbed his pitchfork into the now full manure cart, exhausted, and leaned against one of the stable's posts.

 _Finally, finished. And just in time for Fritz to show up and push me into the cart – again._

You'd think that after twenty-something times, the novelty of seeing your younger brother fall face-first into a cart of manure would wear off somewhat, but Fritz seemed to undergo a mental reset every two or three days, and he'd never fail to laugh.

As if on cue, a shadow loomed into his view. "Hey, Grubby," a voice called from behind.

Hans groaned at the sound of his despised nickname. _Karl today, then._

For some reason, almost every single one of his brothers was stupid, sadistic, and criminally unlikeable. It was a good thing he himself had escaped this curse.

"Hello, Karl," Hans said exasperatedly, turning around. "What is it you want this time?"

Then he noticed that not just Karl, but all of his brothers, were standing there. Even Theo, who got picked on almost as much as he did. Something odd was going on.

"What's going on here?" he asked, taking a defensive stance in case they all tried to throw him into the manure cart at once. He noticed a newspaper in Karl's hands. "Practicing our reading, are we?" he said mockingly. "I hear you've gotten all the way up to five letter words so far!"

Karl ignored his jab. "So, do you remember those girls from Arendelle, Elsa and Anna?" he asked facetiously.

Hans sighed again. _So this is the game we're playing today._

"Yes, Karl, I remember them quite well, as a matter of fact," he said, starting to turn back around. "What about them?"

"Well," Karl said, brandishing his newspaper, "they're getting married."

Hans' head snapped back around. "Really? To who?"

Nobody answered. A couple of them started snickering.

Hans sighed, realizing his mistake – making it evident that they had some knowledge that he wanted. He folded his arms, making his best attempt to appear uninterested.

"I mean, I can guess who Anna ended up with, but who's the sorry loser who got stuck with the ice queen?" he said nonchalantly.

At this point, Marco and Franco, who could not have been less subtle if they were transformed into elephants, burst into laughter.

"What?" Hans said, confused. "Are you telling me she didn't end up with deer boy?"

Now Karl started laughing, too. "Not even close," he managed.

"Look, I don't get what's so funny about this," Hans said, getting angry. "Two unlucky guys got stuck with the Bitch Queen and Princess, what's funny about that?"

By now all of his brothers were laughing, leaving him totally in the dark.

Finally, Theo took pity on him. "You really need to read this, Hans," he said, handing him his own newspaper.

"Fine," Hans said, snatching it out of his hand. "But I don't see what could possibly be so amusing about a couple of royal…"

He stopped.

He read the headline.

He read it again.

Then he started to read the article, just to make sure it wasn't a typo.

He froze in place, his hands locking rigidly around either side of the paper. His eyes grew wide, and one of them started twitching.

Karl walked over to him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Boy, you sure know how to pick 'em, don't ya, Grubby?"

Everyone else laughed harder. Hans said nothing.

"No, no," Heinrich piped up. "Trying to marry one of them? That was totally a good plan. Can't imagine why it didn't work."

They laughed again. Hans didn't respond.

"Hey, can you blame them?" Uli shouted over the laughter. A couple days alone with Hans is enough to turn any girl into a lesbian!"

Now all of them were roaring with laughter. Still Hans stood, stock still, showing no signs of movement, save for his twitching eye.

"Hey, quiet, quiet," said Theo, walking towards Hans. "Hans, brother, I have some bad news," he said. "You may not want to hear this now, but you gotta find out sooner or later." He put his hand on Hans' shoulder.

"You're not invited to their wedding," he said.

They all erupted into laughter once again, Karl laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. Still, Hans didn't react.

They teased him for a few more minutes, then got bored and left. When they came back to check on him half an hour later, he was still in the exact same position.

He stayed like that for three hours, never once moving, never looking anywhere but straight ahead at the newspaper in his hands. Eventually, they started to worry that they might have put him into some sort of coma.

Then Heinrich picked up the manure cart and dumped its contents onto his head. That, at least, got a reaction out of him.


	15. Chapter 14: Red and white

**Chapter fourteen**

 **Red and white**

The organist was playing Pachelbel's Canon in D.

Again.

Kristoff sighed, pulling at the collar of his suit again. Despite having found, over the past few weeks, 23 different florists, 78 caterers, 31 tailors, 16 decorators, and 41 bakers, it seemed that, in all of Arendelle, there was only one professional organist. And that organist only seemed to know one single tune.

It was anomalous. This was the wedding of the century. In every other way, they had been sure to spare no expense – the food, the decorations, everything was perfect – and yet, here the guests sat, bored to tears from listening to the same song 16 times in a row.

Kristoff glanced at the assembled guests.

 _Then again, considering all the bizarre guests gathered here today, I doubt there's ever a dull moment._

The left side of the aisle was normal enough – foreign dignitaries from neighboring kingdoms, as well as much of the castle staff. Kai and Gerda were in attendance, naturally, with several more of Anna's favorites in the first row. In the second, some of the most prominent royal guests. Rapunzel made polite conversation with Marisol, occasionally prodding Eugene in a futile effort to get him to sit up straight.

Surprisingly, even Weselton and the Southern Isles made an appearance, with a low ranking member of each one's royal family here. They had repeatedly stressed that they were here to 'put all that nasty business behind us,' which Kristoff was inclined to believe – after all, what country wants to be opposed to an ice queen? They were currently seated next to Angus, a rotund and boisterous king from a nearby island nation, and each was making an admirable effort to not appear upset about the arrangement.

The right side, on the other hand, was complete chaos.

It was perfectly reasonable to let Olaf be in attendance. He was, after all, Elsa's creation, and it was only fitting that he be here for the wedding. Marshmallow was a bit iffier, but Elsa had commanded him to not do anything even remotely violent, so mostly he just sat there quietly, shooting dark looks at the humans on the other side of the aisle. Thankfully, they had decided on an open air ceremony – who knows how much worse it might have been if they had to get him inside.

Problem was, once he had agreed to let those two attend, he also had to invite their…brothers, as well.

The best thing you could say about the little snowmen, or 'snowgies', as people had affectionately nicknamed them, was that they were very friendly. They had no compunctions about running up to the other guests, jumping into their laps, and cuddling, which everyone, of course, found charming and adorable.

The worst thing you could say about them was pretty much everything else.

For every minute he spent setting up any one part of the ceremony, he spent three more defending it from the snowgies. Banners, flowers, tables, food – nothing was safe from their wrath. Any time he cornered one of them and tried to reason with it, ten more would jump on something else.

Kristoff sighed, leaning back against Sven. _I swear, if I have to spend one more minute wrangling those little-_

"Kristoff?"

He wheeled around. "Yes, Elsa?" he said quickly.

Elsa looked positively radiant, her wedding dress a swirly mix of white and light blue. The slight frown on her face was the only thing that marred it somewhat.

"Could you talk to Anna?" she asked. "She hasn't come out of the dressing room, and she says she doesn't want me to see her just yet."

Kristoff smiled reassuringly. "She's just nervous, that's all," he said. "This is a big day – for both of you.

"I know that," Elsa fretted. "Could you just…make sure she's okay?"

Kristoff grinned. "Hey, no problem," he said. "Just, be a dear and make sure none of your snowgies make it to the cake, okay? They've tried a couple times already."

"Oh, sure thing," Elsa said. "They haven't been trouble, have they?"

"What? No, of course not!" Kristoff said quickly, laughing just a bit too hard. Quickly, he hurried off to find Anna.

Elsa frowned as he went. She turned to Sven. "Have they been trouble?"

Sven nodded so vigorously his antlers clapped together.

xxxxxxx

Kristoff made his way to the ornate tent designated as Anna's dressing room. He stepped inside and knocked gently on the thin divider set up.

"No!" Anna shouted from behind the barrier. "I told you it's bad luck for the bride to see me in my wedding dress before the ceremony!"

"Really?" he said. "I didn't realize I was the bride."

Anna pushed aside the divider. "Oh, Kristoff," she said, surprised. "I didn't expect you to come by."

"Elsa's worried about you," he said. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, sure, sure thing," Anna said distractedly.

Kristoff stepped into the little tent, ducking under the low ceiling.

"You have a really soft tap, you know," Anna said. "That's why I thought you were Elsa – uh, why I thought that you tapping was actually Elsa tapping. Uh, not that you tap like a girl, I didn't mean to say that either, although, if you did-"

Kristoff held up a hand to silence her. "You're nervous," he said.

"What?" Anna said, trying to sound casual. "Don't be silly, Kristoff. I'm not nervous. I'm marrying the best woman in the world, why would I possibly be…"

Kristoff raised an eyebrow.

Anna sighed. "Okay, you're right, Kristoff. I'm _really_ nervous right now."

"That's fine," he assured. "Pre-wedding jitters are always-"

"It's not about the wedding," she said. "It's the people."

Kristoff was surprised. "The people?" he said. "You mean the guests?"

"Yes, the guests!" Anna said, frustrated by his lack of understanding. "What if I go out there and they all boo us? Or laugh at us? Or call us names, and -"

Kristoff put his hand on her shoulder. "Anna, it'll be fine."

She looked at him. "But how do you know?"

He smiled. "Because it's true love."

Anna stared at him, unsure how to respond. Kristoff continued.

"You two are perfect together. Your love for each other is the most powerful magic I've ever seen. It was obvious to everyone ever since that day on the lake. I promise you, nobody will be able to look at you two and say this marriage wasn't meant to be."

He could see the calming effect his words were having on her. "Well, maybe, but…"

Kristoff grinned. "Come on, Anna. You're getting married to Elsa, queen of all Arendelle! That makes you the second luckiest girl in the world today! I promise you, I won't let anything bad happen to either of you."

Anna smiled. "Thanks, Kristoff," she said, hugging him. "You're a great friend."

"Yeah, yeah," he said. "You already made me best man – you really don't need to flatter me anymore."

Anna giggled.

Kristoff pointed for the exit. "Now let's get this marriage started!"

She smiled. "Okay," she said. "Thanks again, Kristoff."

Kristoff watched her as she left, nearly stumbling over the hem of her wedding dress. The tailor said she'd get used to the longer skirt, but she didn't seem to have gotten the hang of it just yet.

Mainly white, the dress' main design was a ring of rose patterns, wrapping diagonally around the gown so they traveled down one of the sleeves. Each rose was intricate, a mixture of deep scarlet and paler pinks. Anna looked downright gorgeous in it.

 _And to think, there was a time when I would've…_

He shook his head. _No use thinking about that now. She's with Elsa, and she's happy._

 _And I wouldn't want it any other way._

xxxxxxx

The priest cleared his throat. The general chatter settled down quickly.

"Love conquers all bounds," he began. "We are gathered here today to celebrate this fact, with the union of Queen Elsa and Princess Anna in holy matrimony."

Anna shivered. Though they had rehearsed this several times, hearing these words, for real this time, sent a shiver down her spine.

 _This is really, actually happening._

In front of her, Elsa looked just as excited, though she seemed to be doing a better job of holding still. Beside her, Kristoff fidgeted, his itchy suit only made itchier by the large tufts of reindeer fur stuck to it.

As the priest continued through the ceremony, Anna couldn't help but steal a few nervous glances at the audience. All she saw was smiles. No scowls, no angry looks, nobody that looked like they were about to get up and protest.

She reprimanded herself. _Nothing is going to happen to ruin this. Why do I insist on thinking something might?_

The fact was, these last few weeks hadn't just been perfect – they had been too perfect. The fact that this was going to happen – that she was about to be allowed to do this, that she and Elsa would be together like this forever – it was almost too good to be true.

The priest's voice cut through her thought. "If anyone objects to this union, speak now, or forever hold your peace."

Anna stiffened. _This is it._

But nobody said a word. Ten agonizingly long seconds of absolute silence passed, and then it was over.

The priest turned to her. "Princess Anna, do you take Elsa to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, as long as you both shall live?"

Anna swallowed. "I-I do."

He turned to Elsa. "And Queen Elsa, do you take Anna to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, as long as you both shall live?"

Elsa nodded. "I do."

"Then, by the power vested in me by the kingdom of Arendelle, I pronounce the two of you are married."

The guests applauded.

"The brides may now kiss," he finished.

Anna took a step forward, wrapped her arms around Elsa, and did just that.


	16. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

 **Two years later**

Two years. Had it really been two years already?

Hand halfway to the doorknob, Anna paused and reflected.

Indeed, it was just under two years prior that she had stood outside Elsa's door, no longer locked out, but on the verge of being let in like never before. So much had changed since then.

For one thing, it wasn't Elsa's door anymore. It was theirs.

Of course, it wouldn't make any sense for a married couple to sleep in separate beds, let alone separate rooms. The move-in had happened unceremoniously, with servants bringing over her things while the two were still on their honeymoon. It was all very logical, yet it meant so much more to her than that, for entirely illogical reasons.

Carefully, Anna slowly eased open _their_ door and tiptoed over to _their_ bed. A part of her felt rather amused that she still found that much meaning in this fact, even after nearly two years. A small part.

Elsa lay under the sheets, breathing slowly. A single pale arm rested atop them, just as unclothed as the woman it was attached to.

Initially, Elsa had been reluctant to sleep in the nude. Not out of modesty – a concept that Anna had associated with Elsa for years, but now found wholly inaccurate – but practicality. She had argued that, by sleeping nude, she would be implying that, when it came to being in bed, sleeping was secondary – which, of course, could lead to a drastic lack of sleep and seriously hinder their daytime productivity.

As it turned out, she had been correct. Evidently, the tradeoff was worth it.

Tonight, however, it seemed this would not be the case. Elsa had retired early, exhausted from the day's events, which happened far more often than Ann would have liked – which is to say, at all. But, as a queen herself, Anna had had to learn the virtue of temperance, and to recognize when Elsa just wasn't in the mood.

She tiptoed forward another step, and her dress evaporated.

Anna smiled. _Now, for example, she_ is _in the mood._

Another idea hilarious in hindsight was that Anna wearing dresses exclusively created by Elsa would provide restraint. Per Elsa's initial pitch, she would have full control over the clothing, which would allow her to prod Anna awake if she was nodding off or remind her to pay attention without having to reach over and touch her.

Instead, it meant that Elsa could fully dissolve any part of Anna's clothes at any time, and for every modicum of restraint this provided Anna, it eliminated a mountain of Elsa's. And, of course, she touched Anna more than ever.

Elsa rolled over, casting aside the bedsheets as she did so. "I thought you'd never show up."

Anna planted her hands on her hips, trying to appear indignant, which wasn't easy, considering she was both completely naked and not the least bit indignant. "You said you were tired and needed to go to bed early."

"But it was the truth," Elsa responded. "I did need to go to bed early – so I could save what energy I had left for you."

Anna shook her head. "Elsa," she said, clambering into bed, "I think I've been a bad influence on you."

"I know," Elsa said, wrapping her arms around Anna. "Isn't it wonderful?"

"Yea-" was the last sound to escape Anna's mouth before Elsa's mouth sealed it off.

xxxxxxx

Anna's sleeping form was the most beautiful thing in the world. Well, tied with her waking form.

Elsa lay there, propped up on one elbow, staring lovingly at her sister's body. Two years later, and she still hadn't decided which part she liked more – the passion while awake, or the beautiful tranquility of watching her asleep after.

 _It's okay,_ she reminded herself. _I've got the rest of our lives to figure it out._

It was amazing how much had changed in such short time. For more than a decade, her whole life had been solitude and self-loathing. Now, Anna was her whole life.

A breeze blew through the open window, its crispness making Elsa shiver. She started to pull up her covers, then rejected this action in favor of scooting closer to Anna and throwing her arms around her again. Her contented sigh confirmed that she had made the right choice.

It wasn't always perfect, of course. They still had fights every now and then. Sometimes it was her fault, sometimes it was Anna's – sometimes it was impossible to tell. Anna had made her cry, and she'd done the same. But she never broke her promise, and even when Anna was furious at her, or she at Anna, they both knew that eventually they would forgive each other. And when they did finally make up, their happiness was all the more precious for the turmoil they had been through.

Very carefully, she brushed a strand of hair away from Anna's face and tucked it behind her ear, knowing fully well it would be all for nothing by the morning. That, too, was okay. Some might say it would be impossible to find beauty in bedhead Anna, but there was something about it that Elsa found utterly divine.

Probably the "Anna" part.

The breeze died down, but Elsa made no move to separate herself from Anna. Nor did she have any plan to. She wished, more than anything else in the world, that this moment, with Anna in her arms, could last forever.

 _Oh, well. I'll just settle for the two of us living happily ever after together._

And they certainly did.

 **The end**


End file.
